


Like a Meteor into My World

by huntress489



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: A Little Dark Sometimes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, BAMF Lexa, But Not Angsty Dark, Consent Withdrawn, Doctor Clarke, F/F, F/M, Gardner!Jasper, I am seriously messed up, I do not feel fine, It's the End of the World As We Know it and I Feel Fine, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Minor Character Death, No Lesbians Die, Past Child Abuse, Sexual Assault, Soulmates, Stalker!Finn, Surprisingly Canon Typical Violence for a non-cannon story, That's right I punned in the tags, The end of the world is messed up, U-Hauling Level: Epic, You know what I don't even know what's wrong with me, Zero Percent Clexa Angst, clexa fluff, whatcha gonna do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-11 14:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 30
Words: 109,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10467165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntress489/pseuds/huntress489
Summary: Upon the death of her obscenely rich, eccentric uncle,  Sergeant First Class Lexa Woods inherits an interesting collection of corporate and industrial holdings and a disaster proof bunker on the eve of apocalypse.Dr. Clarke Griffin took a position with the Veteran's Administration Hospital system to reduce her student debt.  There she treats a variety of men and women battered by war and the ravages of time.Then one day she meets SFC Woods.  Love at first sight is cheesy fiction, but here they are again, when green meets blue.  When the earth meets the sky can these two keep their people safe and alive while society breaks down and the world burns?Featuring an Extinction Level Event, Impact Winter, Linctavia, a Creepy Stalker, Violence, the Breakdown of Society, Ranya, and a very perceptive puppy.TL;DR:  A planet killing asteroid is hurtling toward the Earth and recovering injured war vet Lexa Woods meets the inimitable Dr. Clarke Griffin.  It's love in the apocalypse.





	1. Who Wants To Live Forever

Her whole back half was screaming at her, burning agony inside and out, flying through the air.  The oxygen had been stolen from her lungs and in a brief moment of clarity, SFC Alexandria Woods understood what it would feel like to die in the vacuum of space, airless with the pressure of the universe squeezing the life out of her.

Her unit was on a covert op in Kandahar.  It was a simple search and destroy, get to the location undetected, confirm and destroy the weapons cache, get out, go home.  They were dropped well outside of the area and humped the eighteen miles into town.  The unit was small, there were three of them, CPT John Ryder, SFC Indra Washington, and herself, all Airborne Rangers.  In the range of military maneuvers, they were considered surgical.  They could be dropped up to a two day march from a target and could hump it another two days to an evacuation point.

Things had been going well, they entered the location under the cover of darkness and settled in to wait and watch to determine the best opportunity to confirm the location of and destroy the entire weapons cache.  It had been two days of watching and planning when they heard gunfire in the streets.  Before they could target the source of the disturbance, the building they had hunkered down in exploded in on them.  

Lexa was pretty sure Cap was dead.  She saw an arm and what might have been part of a torso blow into her peripheral vision.

The world went dark, a few moments later the screaming, groaning, gunfire, and falling rubble sounds faded to a buzz before going completely silent.   _So this is how I die, alone in Kandahar.  I guess this could be considered a blaze of glory._

****

She didn’t know how long it had been, but she heard sound.  Chopper blades.  She’d know that sound anywhere, when you spend enough time rappelling out of them you can tell a Black Hawk from any other helicopter.  She thought she might be lying on her stomach, but the pain and pressure were so bad that she wasn’t sure.  There might have been voices shouting, Lexa spoke three languages and four dialects, she couldn’t make out words.   _Does the afterlife sound like a Black Hawk?_  The sound faded away.

****

Beeping.  Everything about her body screamed in agony.  Places that didn’t hurt before hurt now.

“There you are,” a deep male voice spoke.  “Welcome back, Sergeant Woods.”

Lexa couldn’t talk, there was something in her throat.  She didn’t want to think about it, but there seemed to be something jammed into or coming out of everywhere.  She opened her eyes and blinked as her eyes adjusted to light like she hadn’t seen it in weeks.

“Don’t bother trying to talk, you’re intubated.  You’ve been in a medically induced coma for four weeks,” the voice said.  Her eyes sought him out and saw an Air Force officer with a medical patch.  She tried to raise her arm to salute and found more tubes coming out of it, the pain was intolerable.

“At ease, Ranger,” he said.  “I’m Major Nyko Elmhurst, you were hurt pretty badly.  An IED blew out a wall at your back.  Your Captain didn’t make it.  Sergeant Washington returned stateside last week.  She saved your life.”

Lexa nodded as much as the pain would allow.

“You’ve got some pretty severe burns on your back, we dug out a lot of concrete and metal shrapnel.  I’m afraid the scarring is pretty significant.   You’re rib cage was crushed in the force of the blast, a lung was punctured and has been repaired.  We actually only turned you over this morning.  We’re going to keep you here for a few more days before we send you to Walter Reed to finish your recovery,” the Major read the look in her eye.  “You’re at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.”  

Lexa indicated understanding.

“I’m going to give you some pain meds now and you’ll probably go right back to sleep,” Major Elmhurst told her.

She did.

****

A day passed with doctors and nurses of multiple nationalities checking on her injuries.  A British nurse told her she was the subject of international bragging rights.  The medics stabilized her as best they could in Kandahar and flew her to the nearest ally controlled hospital.  Doctors from three nations worked together to save her in Kuwait.  Most of the week was a blur of pain and pain meds.  It didn’t hurt as bad now as it had before she blacked out in Kandahar, now she just felt like she was on fire.  Although, she supposed, technically, she had been.

The next morning, Major Elmhurst returned and removed her breathing tube.

“Thank you,” she croaked.  He throat was raw and irritated, but at least that horrible tube was gone.

He checked her breath sounds.  The agony of her flesh when she took a deep breath was worrying enough that the Major gave her a shot of morphine to get through the exam.

“Your lungs sound good, we’re going to keep a close eye on them for the next day or two.  As soon as we’re not worried about the air pressure changes in flight, we’ll get you on a Medivac to D.C..”

“How long until I can return to Active Duty?” She croaked, barely discernible.

“You won’t, Sergeant Woods, you’re getting a medical discharge,” the doctor sighed.  “You can’t hump a fifty pound ruck ten miles through the desert anymore.  The only thing you’ll be fit to do is man a desk, that doesn’t seem to me like something a female Air Assault, Airborne, Ranger, bomb diffuser wants to do.”

She gave him a look.

“You’re file is impressive, Woods.  I can’t speak for the Army, but the Air Force appreciates your service,” Elmhurst winked and handed her a cup of water.  She drained the cup.

He must have a pretty high security clearance to know about the mission to rescue the crew of a C-130 that got pinned down on a runway in a place they weren’t supposed to be dropping supplies according to several international treaties.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” she replied.  “I only see the Air Force when I jump out of your planes.”  Her throat still burned, but not as painfully.

He finished making notes in her chart, “Get some rest, Sergeant.”

 

Eight days passed.  Lexa had started to dread the daily bandage changes less, maybe it was the nurse that flirted, maybe it just didn’t hurt as badly.  Staff Sergeant Luna Banks was USAF attached to UN peacekeeping forces.  She was from Norfolk, a Navy brat that joined the Air Force to spite her father.  

Lexa was face down on her bed.  Her hospital gown was open and aside from the bandages she was bare.  When Luna pulled off the biggest bandage that covered most of her back, Lexa shivered with the exposure to the cool air.  Next Luna peeled away the bandages on her lower back and rear end.  More shivers from Lexa.  

“Look at that,” Banks teased.  “You tremble with anticipation of my touch.”

“Or it could be that this room is slightly warmer than Hoth,” Lexa complained.

Luna peeled away the bandages from the back of Lexa’s legs.

“How’s it look?”  Lexa asked as she did every day.

“That ass is still exceptional,” Luna flirted.  “Skin or no skin.”

“I used to run up mountains,” Lexa muttered.

“You might still,” Luna told her.  “Most of your tattoo stayed in Kandahar, though.  It won’t be going up anymore mountains.”

“Can I see?”  It was the first time SFC Woods had asked to see the damage.

SSgt Banks pulled out her phone and snapped a series of photos.  She handed the phone to Woods.

“Fuck,” Lexa swiped through the photos.  Her back was a patchwork of healing burn scars and wounds where shrapnel had been dug out of her.  She could see the top lines of her back tattoo, the rest was burned away.  Her butt and the back of her thighs looked a bit like raw hamburger had been patted on in places.  She could see the bruising from her broken ribs under the other damage.  She thought she looked a little like she had been hit by a car and drug a few miles.  Felt a little like that, too.

“You really are lucky to be alive, Woods,” she dabbed Silvadene cream onto the burns.

“Yeah, lucky,” Lexa sighed.

“I’m going to leave the bandages off for awhile and let them get some air,” Luna snapped off her gloves.  “Don’t try to roll over.”

“Riiiigghhhht,” Lexa smirked.  “You just want to look at my ass some more.”

“I’m telling you, Woods,” Luna teased.  “That’s the kind of ass you clutch onto, dig your nails in, and brag to everyone in the locker room about.”

“Do you brag about all the time you get to spend with my ass down in the nurses lounge?”

“The other nurses are totally jealous,” Luna headed for the room door.  “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

****

The next morning, Major Elmhurst came in with a team to prep her for Medivac to Walter Reed.  Lexa was going home with an impending medical discharge and a chest full of medals.  Well, she would be if she could put on her uniform over her injuries.  As it was she was being rolled into a helicopter, flown to an airstrip, rolled onto a Globemaster, and flown to Andrews Air Force Base with stops at Ramstein and Mildenhall.  There were a dozen other patients being transported home with her along with some heavy equipment.

Lexa would have complained about the degradation of flying across the globe strapped to a bed, but she was so loaded with painkillers that she didn’t really notice.  The rest of the patients cheered when they touched down at Andrews.  They loaded several of them into ambulances for the rest of the journey to Bethesda.  Woods and a Marine with a traumatic brain injury were loaded onto a Black Hawk.

****

******May 4, 2017**  
** **

Lexa spent two weeks stuck in a bed at Walter Reed.  Then there were two weeks of physical therapy before they would consider sending her home.  She had finished the first week of physical therapy.

That's when the lawyer came, there had been an accident.

Lexa Woods was an orphan.  Her senior year of high school her parents were killed in a car accident.  Lexa’s father’s brother, her only surviving relative, came to D.C. to stay with her in their home until Lexa’s eighteenth birthday.  He was a weird guy, but not unkind.  He didn’t want to uproot her entire life with only four months until she was a legal adult.  So Titus Woods moved to D.C. from his home in Asheville, North Carolina.  Uncle Titus was loaded, all her father had ever told her was that Titus made the first part of his fortune by writing a program that fixed other programs that were vulnerable to the Millennium Bug.  From there her father said that Titus “invested well.”

Everyone has a crazy uncle, Lexa’s crazy uncle was rich and came to her aid in the worst time of her life.  He offered to send her to college, but Lexa had enlisted earlier in the year or she might have taken him up on it.  While she was in boot camp, he sent her a letter every day.  While she was in AIT, she got one every week.  They weren’t emotional or overly flowy.  Mostly they were the news of the day or the weather.  If there was a development with her parents estate, he included it as a postscript.  Somewhere in there Lexa learned to love the weird uncle that tried to make her feel normal when nothing was normal.  So when his attorney arrived in her room at Walter Reed to tell her he was dead, she cried for the first time since her parents died.

Titus left everything to Lexa.  She went from Army Ranger, to mortally wounded, to unemployed, to alone in the world, to embarrassingly wealthy so quickly that her head spun.  She had no idea how wealthy Titus was until she saw the land and corporate holdings that went along with the shocking number of zeros in his accounts.  The lawyer delivered a letter along with a copy of the will, both were dated six months after Lexa's eighteenth birthday.  The twelve year old note read:

 

 

 

 

> _Alexandria,_
> 
> _I apologize if this letter finds you at a difficult time.  I wish for you to know that I am very proud of your accomplishments and your father would have been as well.  I hope that you will always be prepared for the worst as I have tried to be.  Do not mourn me, remember what I taught you:  The dead are gone; the living are hungry._
> 
> _Titus Woods_
> 
> ****

Sometime after they buried her parents Titus told her “The dead are gone; the living are hungry.”  She didn’t fully understand it until she was on a battlefield with bullets whizzing past her head and bodies bleeding out.

After a great deal of arguing and signing papers, the US Army agreed to transfer Lexa’s medical care the the Veterans Hospital in Asheville so that Lexa could put her Uncle’s affairs in order.  She was required to check in with the physical therapist when she arrived and the keep to the schedule they assigned.  She would not be fully released until the doctors there determined that she was healthy.

At least Lexa was able to put on her class A’s to fly to Asheville where the lawyer picked her up and drove her to Titus’ office.  It was a converted house near downtown.  The bottom floor was his business office.  Lexa wasn’t sure what kind of business he was conducting there, but she suspected he had meetings there so he could claim the house and living quarters upstairs as a business expense.  Upon arriving upstairs, she noticed that it was more sparse than she remembered from the last time she visited.  It didn’t look as though her Uncle was spending much, if any, time here.  Lexa wondered where he had moved his things.  She picked up the folder containing the information about Titus’ holdings and looked for another residence.  She found a hunting cabin on twenty-four square miles in the mountains to the south of the city.

She weighed her options, she needed to check in at the VA today, she also wanted to check out the cabin.  It was getting late.  She picked up the keys to the car Titus had left in the garage, it was a new Subaru Outback.  He was driving his old beat up pick up when he got into the accident that killed him.  

She drove it to the VA and checked in with the desk to be directed to physical therapy.  She waited two hours before they could see her and work out a new physical therapy schedule.  She was given an appointment with a Dr. Griffin for the following week to review her file and health and determine if she was fit for release and discharge.

Lexa was tired.  She stopped at a grocery store on the way back to Titus’s and bought enough food for a few days.  When she got back to the house, she ordered a pizza and pretended there wasn’t a file that she needed to go through and make decisions about.

The next morning the attorney was back with questions and to allow her to ask questions about the business holdings.  Lexa was too numb to make any decisions beyond, “Just change the name on the holdings and give me a few days to think.”

Lexa spent three days signing paperwork, talking to attorneys, talking to accountants.  Each morning she went to physical therapy and a took a long walk around downtown Asheville.

 

******May 10, 2017**** **

The sun came up the next morning and Lexa went to the VA for physical therapy.  An hour later, she followrd the GPS directions to Titus’ cabin in the mountains.  After she turned into the second dirt road, she came to appreciate her Uncle’s choice of an Outback.  Luckily it had been dry and she didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in the mud.  

She came to a gate that looked like a deer lease boundary.  There was a key for the lock on the Subaru’s key chain.  She unlocked the gate and pulled through, not bothering to relock it behind her. After two miles exactly according to the trip odometer, Lexa found small run down looking cabin.  Best she could tell from the GPS and land boundaries on the deed, she was at the exact center of the property.

She thinks the look of this cabin doesn’t really fit with her Uncle’s fastidiousness.  She unlocks the door to find a plain three room hunting cabin.  There is nothing special about the place.  A small kitchen with a wood burning stove, no refrigerator.  Something is off. She just hasn’t seen it yet.

There it is, in front of the fireplace.  She knows that rug, it’s from her parent’s house in D.C.  She loved that rug and often laid on it with her father as a child to read books and play games.  She hadn’t been there in years.  Titus paid a service to keep everything in order for her until she decided to come home.  Well, she was home now and she was taking her rug.  As she rolled it up, she saw the trap door. _What the hell?_

Opening the trap door she finds stairs leading to a hermetically sealed door with a biometric scanner. _What the hell?_  Her brain was so scrambled that was all she could think.  She places her finger on the scanner.  It recognizes her fingerprint much to her surprise, and the door unseals and opens to allow her entry.  She sees stairs going down and down to another door.  Lexa is reminded of the Zoo of Death from _The Princess Bride_.  

 _What in the hell?_  She thought she remembered seeing papers that Titus owned a mining company among other odd holdings.

She has to be scanned at the next door as well.  This one also checks her body temperature.  She keeps going down and passes two more sealed doors.  She finally comes to a door on the left instead of directly in front of her.  This one asks for a passphrase as well.  She starts to puzzle it over and realizes that Titus had already given it to her, “The dead are gone; the living are hungry.”

The door opens to more stairs and more doors.  When Lexa arrives at the last door it opens into a huge bunker.  Directly in front of her is a wall unit with shelves full of equipment and four flame resistant hazmat suits.  Lexa saw packages of new breathing filters on one of the shelves.   _What the hell?_

She turns and sees a huge living area, four sofas facing each other with a large oval coffee table in between them.  On the wall above one is a 60 inch flat screen.  She sees speakers in the walls around the high ceilinged room.  On the opposite end of this huge room is a grand piano and a few well positioned arm chairs.  To her right is a doorway into what appears to be a mess hall.  Ahead of her is a corridor.  She chooses to go into the mess hall area first.  Walking into the mess hall she realizes that the walls are four feet thick as she circles the section of wall with two openings between the living area and mess hall. There is another corridor off to the left.  Ahead of her is a kitchen.  There are six banquet tables with six padded chairs at each table with black table cloths on each one.  

Lexa enters the huge kitchen, clearly designed to keep a small army fed, one wall was shelves of dishes.  Four large ovens are set into one section of wall.  There is a restaurant style grill and four electric burners.  The sinks and refrigerator are also restaurant quality.  She entered the pantry, it was well stocked, the current stores could keep one man fed for several years.  There were freshly canned fruits and vegetables instead of the store bought variety.  She spotted another door at the other end of the pantry and used her fingerprint to unlock it.  More stairs.  At the bottom she unseals another door and this one opens to a large hydroponic garden with a timed light and water system.  She wondered where the water was coming from.  It’s been a week since her Uncle died, most of the plants have been recently harvested.  Probably in some of the jars in the pantry upstairs.  She spots four doors in this garden room, one leads into a large well stocked walk in freezer.  Another is a wine and liquor cellar.  Uncle Titus had excellent taste there was a lot to be excited about in the wine cellar.  The third door was more stairs down into the mountain.  The fourth door was dry storage, an entire wall unit packed with familiar brown MRE packages.  Ten years worth of dry food shelved for easy access and inventory.  She shook her head.  Uncle Titus was crazy, but thorough.

She went down the stairs behind the third door.  At the bottom there was a small touchscreen computer with readings.  Lexa looked at it curiously.  Did he expect nuclear war?  The readings included radiation levels.  At the bottom of the screen it declared whatever was beyond the door safe.  Lexa opened it and was floored at finding an open cave with a large lake.  Well, now she knew where the fresh water was coming from, she had seen huge bottles of water in the pantry and wine cellar areas, but had noted that it wouldn’t last long.  She looked toward the wall where the door she entered was and saw a series of pumps and filters running a pipe into the fresh, clean, very cold water.  “Where’s the electricity coming from?” she mutters looking at the lights over the doorway.

Lexa works her way back up to the bunker level.  She goes down the corridor off the mess hall and finds eight bedrooms, four with king beds, four with two sets of bunk beds.  Each room had a low bookshelf with different titles on them.  There was a shared bathroom between each pair of rooms.  The furthest one back on the left held Titus’ personal effects.  She went down the corridor off the main room and found a room with a pool table, air hockey, a foosball table, a dartboard, and a few arcade games.  Lexa was very confused.

Next she found a meeting room, another room was computers and monitoring screens.  She found a manual on the console in front of a chair, she flipped it open and began to familiarize herself with the bunker’s security system. _Anya is never going to believe this crazy shit_ .  She sees the electronic fence monitoring system and notes that it recorded when she entered the property and every move she’s made since.  She sees that the fence registered three deer entering the property and had not yet left the property bounds.   _That’s handy_.

She tears herself away from the security system to finish exploring this hall.  Two of the rooms are empty.  Whatever Titus had planned, he hadn’t gotten finished yet.  Of the other three, one was a medical room, everything a combat medic could ever need, in fact she’d seen some do more with less.  Another was an armory, biometrically locked cases of guns, swords, and knives.  Ammunition was stockpiled under the guns.  The third was a pretty impressive home gym including free weights, a stationary bike, rowing machine, multi-station home gym, treadmill, and chin up bars.  The gym on Post wasn’t this well stocked.

The fourth room was storage, in it were thirty two solar panels among other things.  The solar panels had caught her attention and the other contents of the room were less interesting at the moment.  Now she knew where the power was coming from.  She hadn’t seen any panels on the trek up.  She went back to the monitoring room and played with the cameras until she found one pointed at a rocky clearing with, she thought, twenty solar panels with conduit going into the mountain.   _Where are the batteries, then?_  She picked up the manual and flipped through it again.  She found what she was looking for, he had the batteries built into the walls.  All of the walls.  There were also at least four wind turbines up there somewhere according to the manuals.  The whole place was a huge battery buried in the side of a mountain off the grid with it’s own water supply.  The Ranger in her thought this was probably the best fortress one could have in case of an apocalypse.  Honestly, it was the safest she had felt in a long time, nobody had ever shot at her or tried to blow her up underground.  Titus’ odd list of holdings made a lot more sense now.  

“You crazy genius,” Lexa smiled.  Lexa wondered if her friends would think she was nuts for wanting to move in.  Probably.

****

Lexa knew two things for certain.  She didn’t want to go back to D.C. and going up all of those stairs after being trapped in a bed for two months sucked.  She wanted to take a walk around the property, but after those stairs in her mostly healed state, she thought she should save the hike for another day.  

As soon as she had cell reception she dialed Anya.  “It’s about time you called me!  I know you got blown up!”

“How do you know I got ‘blown up’?”

“Lincoln heard it through the grapevine.  He’s got friends at your Camp and they told him you never came back from your last mission,” Anya told her.  “He did some digging and found out you were nearly dead in Kuwait!”

“I’m not in Kuwait now,” Lexa said navigating the dirt roads back to the highway.

“Where are you, then?”  Anya asked.  “Are you home?”

“I was for three weeks.  I was moved to Walter Reed.  Then my Uncle Titus died so now I’m in Asheville, North Carolina.”

“Shit, Lex, I’m sorry,” Anya said.  “I’ve got a lot of vacation time saved up, you want me to come help you sort out his stuff?”

“I’d really like that,” Lexa sighed.  “How is Lincoln?”

“He’s Lincoln.  He’s fine, he’s always fine.  He’s PCSing to Fort Bragg, so he’ll be closer at least.”

“What are his travel dates?”

“He’s supposed to be in DC next Monday.  He’ll have two weeks to report at Bragg.”

“Bring him with, we can compare scars.”

“Ok, send me the address and we’ll drive down in a few of days.”

  
****May 11, 2017****

Lexa had physical therapy this morning and now she’s in an exam room waiting for her new doctor.

“Sergeant Woods, you are a badass,” the blonde doctor said entering the room.  “According to this file, you’re so badass you came back from the dead.”

“Do you flatter all of your patients like this or just the Rangers?”

“I’ve got a soft spot for invincible women,” the blonde smiles.  “I’m Clarke Griffin, you can call me Dr. Griffin, Griff, Doc, or Clarke, just as long as you call me.”

“Careful, Doc, I might think you’re flirting,” Lexa flirted back.

The doctor smiled and winked, “Take off your shirt.”

“Skip the pleasantries and go right for the nudity.  Respect,” Lexa grinned unbuttoning her dress shirt.

“You’ll have to buy me dinner if you want me to take your pants off,” the pretty doctor flirted.

“So you won’t be checking the healing on my rear end today,” Lexa demurred.  She took her shirt completely off, she didn’t look as good as she used to.  Spending eight weeks laid up after the attack had caused her muscles to soften a little.  The scars looked pretty badass, though.  

Dr. Griffin moved around behind her and placed a cold stethoscope against her back.  Lexa jumped and inhaled quickly.  “Good breath sounds,”  Dr. Griffin told her and shifted the cold stethoscope to the other side.  “Deep breath for me, and let it out slowly.”

Lexa did as instructed.

“Sounds good.  Your burns are healing well,”  the doctor started pressing and squeezing at her ribs with her hands.  “Any tenderness?”

“No,” Lexa shook her head.

Clarke came around to her front.  She placed the stethoscope just above Lexa’s left breast and listened.  “Your blood pressure was up when the nurse checked you in and your heart rate is up a little right now.”

“I’m shirtless in a room with a hot blond doctor, if my heart rate isn’t up, I’m dead,” Lexa flirted.

“That covers your current heart rate.  How about the blood pressure?”  Clarke asked.

“I’ve been a little stressed.  I used to exercise to relieve stress, but I can’t do anything but walk until you give me a medical release,” Lexa explained.  “My life has gotten really strange, lately.”

“Stranger as a civilian than as an Airborne Ranger?”

“I know, right.”

“Would you like a psych referral?”  Clarke asked seriously.

“I’d just like to go for a five mile run, do some push ups, maybe a few hundred sit ups,” Lexa told her.  “Just stress relief.”

“What’s so stressful?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

The doctor smiled and made a few notes in the file.  “Everything looks good, I’m going to release you from care, but I want you to work your way back up to those five mile runs.  If you have any difficulty breathing I want you in the nearest ER as soon as possible,” the doctor warned.

“Now that I’m not under your care anymore, how about you let me take you to dinner?”

“You just want to show me your butt scars,” Clarke smiled with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

“It’ll take more than one date to talk your way into my pants, Dr. Griffin,” Lexa flirted back.

****

Lexa left the VA with the blonde’s number and a dinner date for the next night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who Wants To Live Forever - Queen


	2. I'm Still Standing

Clarke Griffin’s life had taken some odd turns.  It started out well, nice house, educated parents with good incomes, naturally gifted, and while she wasn’t the shallow type, Clarke Griffin had no illusions about how much easier her life was because she was attractive.  Two years into college at Columbia University (Columbia, for fucks sake!), it all started coming apart.  First, she caught her boyfriend of four years, Wells, cheating on her in her bed with her dorm mate.  It had been going on for months, he blamed her saying she was too busy with her own stuff to pay attention to him. 

A month later, her dad died, a mugging gone wrong.  She supposed it was one thing when a loved one fell ill and passed away.  It was something altogether different when a strong, healthy, vibrant man is struck down unexpectedly.  Clarke’s mother, Abby, threw herself into her work.  Abby was a trauma surgeon, she just stopped leaving the OR.  Clarke might have noticed if she hadn’t gone adrift herself.  She went to class every day, she turned in assignments, wrote papers and maintained a 3.8 GPA while high as a fucking kite.  If she wasn’t hitting the bong, she was drunk.  If the alcohol didn’t dull her pain enough, she did ecstasy.  There were entire weeks that Clarke had zero recollection of, in retrospect, that was probably for the best.  

She managed to get through it without getting pregnant or overdosing.  There was a bout of gonorrhea and she got crabs twice, probably from the same girl.  It was the gonorrhea that gave her enough pause that her friends could break through to get her help.  By the time she sat for her MCAT, she was clean, she was also cut-off.  Somewhere along her drug and alcohol fueled field trip she got into a screaming match with her mother.  Clarke didn’t remember all of the details, she knew she didn’t want to see her mother anymore and her mother didn’t want to see her either.  They both blamed each other and the sight of the other just reminded them too much of what they had lost.  Jake had been at dinner with Clarke when Abby called him to bring a slice of cheesecake from Clarke’s favorite restaurant to the hospital.

Clarke took out loans to pay for medical school, she managed a bar and grill in the financial district in the evening to keep her in food, clothes, and a warm place to sleep.  She shared a two room apartment with her oldest friends, Octavia Blake and Raven Reyes.  At the time Raven was working on her aerospace engineering doctorate, Octavia worked as an overnight dispatcher for NYPD until she was old enough to join the force.  The day Octavia was accepted into the police academy they threw a huge party where, incidentally, NYPD was called.

When Clarke finished med school and passed her boards she had a lot of debt, a mentor suggested taking a job with the Veterans Administration, where they would cover a large percentage of her debt in exchange for a few years working in VA hospitals.  After everything, Clarke thought it seemed like a good way to get a new start.  She took a position in Asheville, North Carolina and learned to love the slower pace of life in the Great Smoky Mountains.

She liked working with vets, she had already decided that even after her commitment was up, she would stay with the VA.  They were good men and women who deserved the best care they could get in a system that was often overwhelmed and underfunded.

After leaving the chestnut haired beauty that was Sergeant First Class Alexandria Woods, Clarke was off to see one of her hardest cases, Specialist John Murphy took a bullet to the spine in Fallujah over a year ago.  No surgeon would take it out for fear of making him a paraplegic.  Spec. Murphy was in constant pain and required a brace to walk.  There was a regular debate among the VA doctors over John Murphy, pain management, and prescribed narcotics addiction.

“Here’s Johnny!”  She said cheerily as she walked into the exam room.

“You’re still not funny Dr. Griff,” Murphy grumbled.

“I’ll have you know a hot brunette thought I was so hilarious that I’ve got a date with her tomorrow,” Clarke informed him.

“I think it was probably more that rack of yours,” Murphy scoffed.

“You’re just jealous that your tits aren’t as nice as mine,” the doctor looked at Murphy’s chart.

“If I had tits like yours, I’d never leave my room,” Murphy nodded.

“It’s all I can do to tear myself away every morning,” Clarke agreed.  “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it today?”

“Eleven,” Murphy deadpanned.

“I want to get some x-rays and make sure it hasn’t shifted,” Clarke told him.

“C’mon, Doc, not again!”

“I could stick you in the MRI and let the magnets rip it out of you,” Clarke warned.

“I’ll pass, thanks,” Murphy groused.  “Give me the damn paper so I can hobble my crippled ass down to x-ray.”

“There’s that sunny disposition I love!”

****

Clarke closed and locked her apartment door behind her.  She kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse on the table by the door.  She let out the sigh of a woman who had spent 72 hours on a shift.  Her phone beeped in her back pocket.

 

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Hey, I’ve been trying to get Raven to answer a text for a week, have you heard from her?
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> No.  Wasn’t she working on a new rocket prototype?  You know how she gets with new engine tech.

****

Dr. Raven Reyes was the kind of woman who owned a t-shirt that said ‘It _is_ rocket science, actually’.  In college and grad school, weeks would go by where if they hadn’t lived in the same apartment with her they would have assumed she was dead in an alley somewhere.  These days, she was living and working in Titusville, Florida building rockets for NASA.

****

 

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> I know, but we were talking about getting together in Asheville and she just drops off the face of the Earth.
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> NASA refuses to let her off the planet.  First I’m hearing of a trip to Asheville, though.
> 
> ****

Clarke moved off through her apartment.  Shedding the days clothes, leaving them where they fell.  

****

 

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Oh, yeah, surprise!
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> I’m sure she’s fine, she’ll text back eventually.
> 
> ****

She stopped at the refrigerator, wearing only her bra and panties and saw that her roommate hadn’t gone grocery shopping.  Then she remembered that she lived alone and the grocery store was one of her least favorite places to go.  She sighed and closed the refrigerator.  To order a pizza she was going to have to put clothes back on.

****

 

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Yeah.  So, how are things?
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> I’ve got a date with the hottest soldier I’ve ever seen.
> 
>  

That was unequivocally true, Lexa Woods was hands down the most beautiful person Clarke had ever seen of either gender.  The very thought of Lexa’s plump lips made her head a little fuzzy.  It was a good thing Octavia hadn’t called because distracting thoughts about Lexa caused her to be a little slow to see Octavia’s latest text.

****

 

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Male or female.
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> Female, Airborne Ranger.
> 
> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Wow, how badly was she hurt?

****

Clarke thought about the extensive scarring on the brunette’s back.  When she had seen the remaining lines of Lexa’s burnt off tattoo, her first impulse was to ask what it had been before.  Clarke knew that was rude, though, and managed to resist.  A vision of Lexa in nothing but a bra stirred some very unprofessional feelings.

****

 

> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> Bad, she’s getting an Honorable Discharge now that I’ve released her from care.
> 
> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> I guess if you like her, you don’t have to worry about her going off the war.
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> True.

****

Clarke wondered if Lexa’s discharge was going to leave her adrift in a world that no longer had a place for her.  She had seen that a lot among the wounded vets she treated, men and women who didn’t know how to function in a world of relative safety and free will.  

She opens the app on her phone and orders a pizza.  Leaving instructions to leave it in the hall if she doesn’t answer.  Being the only tenant on the top floor of a converted Victorian mansion had it’s perks.  Clarke went to shower and found the pizza still steaming outside her door when she was clean.

She flopped onto her couch and turned on Netflix, dozing off after two slices of pizza and two episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.”

Her phone chiming broke her doze.  She picked it up and smiled.

 

> **Unknown Number**
> 
> I went for a two mile run.  I feel so much better.  Sit ups stretched the skin on my back uncomfortably.  Who knew I had to break in new skin?
> 
> This is Lexa, by the way, in case you have more than one patient with new skin on their back that you gave your number to.  I really hope not, it is oddly specific and would indicate a fetish on your part.
> 
> You don’t have a burn victim fetish do you?
> 
> I’m nervous now and rambling out increasingly weird things effectively ruining any chance I have with the hot blonde doctor with a burn scar fetish.
> 
> Which is a shame, because if you have a burn scar fetish I have a back and ass full of burn scars.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> I knew new skin needed to be broken in.  I don’t have a burn scar fetish, but I'm thinking about developing one.  I’m glad your run helped.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> Oh thank God, I was starting to worry that I had freaked you out.  I get bored and my mind wanders.  I should probably think about hobbies since I don’t have survival to occupy my thoughts anymore.  
> 
> Macramé, scrapbooking, fly fishing?  What’s the difference between fly fishing and regular fishing?  Where do you go fly fishing in Asheville?  That hobby might have too many questions.  What do you do to occupy your mind?
> 
> I’m doing it again, I’m sorry.  It occurs to me that I might have been missing human interaction since the attack.  Maybe I do need that psych referral.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
>                                                             Too late now, you’ll have to make an appointment.  That should be a fun exercise in futility for you.  I paint, landscapes mostly.  Fly fishing might be nice, though.  We should keep it as an option for a second or third date.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> We haven’t even had our first date and you’re already planning a third?  Suddenly, I’m not nervous anymore.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> Aw, I enjoyed the rambling.  Maybe I can make you nervous again tomorrow night.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> That’ll do it.  What time can I pick you up tomorrow?
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> I plan to sleep until noon, after that I’m free.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> How does 1700 sound?
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> Like we’re going on maneuvers.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> Oh, I’ve got maneuvers. ;)  Text me your address and I’ll see you at 5, dress business casual.  Goodnight, Clarke.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> I’ll bet you do.  Goodnight Lexa.
> 
> ****

Clarke sent her address and moved from the couch to her bedroom, mind stuck on big green eyes and a flirty grin.

 

 

****May 12, 2017**  
**

 

Lexa arrived at exactly 1700 hours and knocked on Clarke’s apartment door.  Clarke may have been a little eager because she opened the door before Lexa had fully pulled her knuckles away.

“Hi,” Lexa said startled.

“Hi,” Clarke smiled.  She gave Lexa a quick up and down look, the Ranger was wearing loose khakis, a light pink button down, and red Chucks.  Her hair was down and hung in barely contained curls down her back.  Clarke thought she was even sexier than when she was shirtless with a bun.

When Clarke’s eyes made it back to Lexa’s face she was smirking with one eyebrow raised, Clarke blushed.  It wasn’t that Lexa hadn’t checked Clarke out, she was just faster.  Clarke had chosen fitted black slacks, a sleeveless top, and strappy sandals.

“You look great,” Clarke tried to control her embarrassment at having been caught leering.

“You’re beautiful,” Lexa smiled at Clarke’s pink cheeks.  She presented Clarke a bucket hat decorated with fishing lures she had spotted earlier in the day.  “For the next date.”

Clarke took it and laughed, all embarrassment forgotten.

“Ready to go?” Lexa asked.

Clarke nodded and grabbed her purse before locking up.  Lexa offered her an arm and Clarke took it.

“How was your day?”  Clarke asked walking down the stairs with Lexa.

“I had to go shopping,” Lexa admitted.  “I should really go back to DC long enough to pick up some clothes.”

“DC is home?”  Clarke asked on the second floor landing.

“It was, a long time ago,” Lexa nodded.  “I haven’t been to the house in a few years.  There’s a service that does all of the upkeep and I have a friend that ships my personal effects wherever I happen to be or catches the DHL guy and puts them in the house when I’m overseas.”

“Sounds like a good friend,” they exited the building and Lexa opened the passenger door on the Outback for Clarke.

“She is,” Lexa admitted.  “Don’t tell her I said so, though.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Clarke grinned as Lexa shut the door and went around to the driver’s side.

Lexa pushed a button to start up the GPS.

“Where are we going?”  Clarke asked.

Lexa gave her the side eye.

“I can look at the GPS to see and then giggle when it takes you down the worst possible route and you end up stuck a block away from where you should be, or you can tell me and I can give you directions,” Clarke said.

Lexa weighed her options.  “Downtown, I thought we would do Gallery Walk then have dinner.”

“Sounds perfect,” Clarke smiled.  “Take a left at the end of the driveway.”  If Clarke wasn't already smitten with the green eyed soldier, this perfect first date would have done it.

****

The great thing about Gallery Walk nights in most art cities is the free wine and cheese at just about every gallery.  Lexa didn’t know much about art, but she figured if Clarke liked to paint, she probably did, so when Clarke talked about color and technique, the soldier listened.

In one gallery Lexa came across a large abstract painting in shades of pinks, blues, and purples.  Lexa felt like she was looking at a perpetual sunset, that moment after the sun had disappeared over the horizon before the light dissipated.  It was calming.  “I like it,” Lexa said.  “I want to fall asleep looking at it.”

Clarke stepped beside her and tried not to smirk.

“What?  Is it garbage and I’m bad at this?”  Lexa asked.

“Clarke,” a male voice called.  Both women turned to see an older man walking toward them.

“Michael,” Clarke greeted.  “This is Lexa Woods.”

“Titus Woods’ Lexa?”  The older man asked.

Lexa nodded.

The man held out his hand, “Michael Walters, I’m very sorry for your loss.  He was an interesting fellow.”

“He was,” Lexa agreed.

“I see Clarke is showing you her current exhibition,” Michael chatted.  “She’s very talented for someone whose focus lies elsewhere.  I’d like to get her to paint more so I can give her a permanent section.”

“This is yours?”  Lexa spun on the blonde.

Clarke grinned.

Lexa turned to look at the little card.  Untitled, C. Griffin, $3000.00.  She turned back to Michael, “Can you have it sent over to my Uncle’s business office?”

“First thing Monday morning,” Michael smiled.

“Lexa, no, you don’t have to,” Clarke stammered.

“Lexa, yes,” the soldier interrupted.  “I wanted it before I even knew it was yours.”  She slipped Michael a credit card.  He excused himself.

Clarke stammered some more.

“If you really don’t want me to buy it, I’ll tell Mr. Walters never mind,” Lexa began.  “But, if you’re just nervous or afraid it’s too much money, well, I can afford something that makes me feel calm.  Way cheaper than therapy in the long run.”

“So, you’re just using me as an excuse to not deal with your problems?”  Clarke suggested.

“Exactly,” Lexa smiled.  In that moment, Clarke really wanted to kiss the Ranger.  Not because she bought one of Clarke’s favorite pieces, but because when she smiled like that Clarke felt all warm and fuzzy inside.  Her fingers itched to pick up a brush and paint the shades of Lexa’s eyes onto a canvas.

Michael returned with Lexa’s card while they looked at a section of his paintings.

“I’ve seen this field before,” Lexa indicated a smaller piece.

“It’s a state park west of Washington D.C.,” Michael told her.

“Sky Meadows,” Lexa said.

“That’s right,” Mr. Walters smiled.

“My Dad used to take me camping there,” Lexa remembered.

“I used to take my son when he was young,” he chuckled.  “I guess it really is a small world.”

They thanked him and moved on to the next gallery.

“You’re just a pile of contradictions, aren’t you?”  Clarke observed.

“What do you mean?” Lexa had offered Clarke her arm as they walked down the block and Clarke had taken it.

“On paper, you’re kind of terrifying,” Clarke admitted.

“Terrifying?”  Lexa worried.

“Well, yeah.  You’ve been shot twice, broken bones jumping out of airplanes and helicopters, and taken shrapnel while saving a bomb sniffing dog,” Clarke explained.

“Boomer was the best battle buddy I’ve ever had, I had to keep him safe,” Lexa explained.  “I miss him.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Clarke smiled.  “You’re actually just a big softy.”

“Is that a problem for you?”  Lexa held the door of the next gallery open for Clarke.

“Only in that it makes me really want to kiss you,” Clarke admitted.

Lexa stopped dead in her tracks.  She felt her face and ears get hot and knew she was blushing.

Clarke giggled at Lexa’s tiny red ears as she walked into the gallery.

“Do you have any paintings in this one?”  Lexa asked when she recovered.

****

They visited all twenty galleries before having dinner at the bistro Clarke recommended.  They talked about everything and nothing, learning so much about each other in a single evening that it felt like they had known each other for years.

****

Lexa walked Clarke back up to her apartment.  “This was a really great night, I really don’t want it to end,” she admitted.

Clarke pulled the brunette in for the kiss she had been longing for all night.  Lexa didn’t believe in clichés until she kissed Clarke Griffin.  Her heart pounded in her chest, she saw fireworks behind her eyelids, she felt warm all over.  Clarke swiped her tongue along Lexa’s bottom lip asking for permission and Lexa granted it.   

Lexa wasn’t the only one suddenly believing in clichés.  Clarke also felt a warmth and desperate want that she had never felt before, well never felt without chemical alteration.  When the kiss broke, Clarke shoved her key in the lock and pulled a slightly dazed Lexa into her apartment.

Clarke tossed her bag and keys on the table by the door and pulled the brunette in by the hips for deeper kisses.  Clarke wasn’t sure when their clothes started falling off,  but soon they were stumbling through Clarke’s living room, attached at the mouth, with shirts discarded and pants unbuttoned.  Making it into the door of Clarke’s bedroom, Lexa unzipped her khakis and let them fall to the floor as the blond pulled her along.

By the time they landed on Clarke’s bed, they were only clad in bras and panties.  Hands were traveling across exposed flesh while tongues battled for domination.  Clarke flipped them so that Lexa was on her back as Clarke began to kiss the area under her ear and down her neck.  Lexa slid one hand to Clarke’s side and the other tangled in blonde waves.  Happily relinquishing control to Clarke, at least until it was Clarke's turn to relinquish control.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm Still Standing - Elton John


	3. All Along the Watchtower

****May 13, 2017** **

Clarke woke up with her bare front against a bare back.  She didn’t even need to open her eyes to recall every line and curve of the girl in front of her.  The scent of Lexa, somewhere between the forest on a spring day and spices, lingered with the smell of girl sex.  Girl sex smelled different than sex with men, guys sweat and leave a lingering scent of body odor.  Girl sex smelled of perfumes and the heady scent of pure pleasure.  Just the scent in her nose was enough to make her want to do it again as soon as possible.  Every woman smelled and tasted a little different, Clarke wanted to smell and taste Lexa over and over again.  She had to stop this train of thought before she started dry humping the still sleeping woman in front of her.  She rolled back onto her back to put some space between their naked flesh.

“Well now I’m cold,” Lexa sighed in a sleepy voice.

Clarke rolled on her side again to press against her gorgeous guest.  “Sorry, I was getting worked up again and didn’t want to wake you up by humping your leg,” Clarke confessed.

“I’ve been awakened in worse ways,” Lexa chuckled.  She rolled over to face Clarke.  “So, that happened.”

“I’m all for it happening again.  Then again after that,” Clarke mused.  “You’re really good at _that_.”  

Lexa smiled and leaned in for a kiss, Clarke met her in the middle.

****

An hour later they collapsed in a heap together again.  “I need a nap,” Clarke sighed.  Lexa hummed agreement.  They dozed off wrapped around each other.

****

When they woke again, Clarke took advantage of the quiet to get a good look at Lexa scars.  The Ranger was asleep on her stomach with Clarke lying half across her.  Clarke knew a great deal about the human body and couldn’t imagine the pain Lexa had felt.  Without thinking she reached forward and stroked the remaining lines of Lexa’s tattoo.

“It was a compass,” Lexa murmured sleepily.

“Were you lost?”  Clarke asked.

“Sometimes,” Lexa sighed.  Clarke heard a sad note in her voice but chose not to push.

“Do you want to get it redone?”  Her finger traced the last remaining compass point.

“I don’t think I need it anymore.”  Lexa rolled over to face Clarke.

“Oh?”

“I think I’m where I’m supposed to be.”  Lexa realized the implications of her statement and added, “Geographically.  Not to say that being with you is anything less than divine.”

“Divine, huh?”  Clarke stared into Lexa’s big green eyes, she tried not to think about how right she felt around the Ranger.  “I felt the same way when I moved here.  Like it was the right place to be.”

Lexa kissed her gently, “What are you doing today?”

“Well, so far, I’ve been doing you,” Clarke smirked.  “I didn’t have any other plans.”

Lexa smiled and kissed Clarke again.

****

Sometime later, Lexa and Clarke had left the sporting goods store and found their way to the banks of the Davidson River.  Clarke wore the bucket hat Lexa had brought her the day before while tying on a lure the way the guy at the counter showed her, tongue stuck out in concentration.  Lexa was unfolding chest waders and chuckling at the ridiculousness of this adventure.

“I got it!”  Clarke cheered herself.  “What’s funny, Woods?”

“All of it,” Lexa shook her head.

Clarke waggled a properly tied lure under her nose.  “Look at my knot, Lexa!  Look at it!”

“It’s very good, Clarke,” Lexa kissed her softly.  Clarke looked up at her with big blue eyes, Lexa misread the look.  “I’m sorry, was that not okay?”

‘No, no, it’s better than okay,” Clarke rushed out.  She dropped the line and lure and put a hand on either side of Lexa’s face to pull her in for a soft kiss.  “I want you to kiss me as often as you want.  I like it when you kiss me.”  There was so much Clarke wanted to say but it had only been three days.  It was way too soon to say that when Lexa looked at her like that she got butterflies.  It was too soon to say that she felt drawn to the green eyed woman and just wanted to touch her all the time.  It was too soon to say that being near Lexa felt like coming home after a long day.

Lexa kissed her again.  “You seem to have dropped your lure.”

“Hmmm,” Clarked hummed looking into Lexa’s eyes.

“Your pole is in the dirt,” Lexa said.

“That’s what she said,” Clarke giggled.

Lexa laughed so hard she snorted.

Clarke laughed harder, “You snorted.”

“It was a pity snort,” Lexa defended.

“You think I’m hilarious,” Clarke gloated.

“I think I like you too much to be objective,” Lexa said.

“I guess that makes, two of us then,” Clarke slipped a hand to the back of Lexa’s neck and pulled her in for another kiss.

When they separated again, Lexa grinned.

“What?”  Clarke cocked her head.

“You like you, too,” Lexa giggled.

“Really?”  Clarke rolled her eyes.  “I like _you_ , dork.”

Lexa kissed her again, “I’m a badass, remember.”

Clarke hummed and melted into another kiss.

Lexa pulled away abruptly, “We really can’t do this here.”

Clarke came to her senses and looked at the forest and river around her.  “Remember where we left off, though.  I want to get back to that later.”

“I won’t forget,” Lexa picked up the forgotten chest waders and passed a pair to Clarke.

****

After five hours, they had caught only three fish, laughed a lot, and had fallen into the river once each.  Lexa drove Clarke back to her apartment.  

“Stay with me again?” Clarke asked hopefully.

“I need clean clothes,” Lexa indicated her still damp khakis from the day before.

Clarke’s face fell.  Lexa put the car in reverse and pulled back out of the parking area.  Clarke looked at her with furrowed brow.

“We’ll run to my Uncle’s place and pick up a change of clothes,” Lexa explained.  “Unless you don’t want to ride shotgun.”

“Ride or die, Lex,” Clarke grinned.

Lexa smiled softly at her and Clarke felt like the only woman in the world.

****

Lexa led Clarke in through the back door.  The downstairs kitchen had been converted into more of a break room than a kitchen.  Clarke glanced around before following Lexa up the back stairs.  The kitchen upstairs was small, but well laid out and and had top of the line appliances.  The living room was also on the small side with built ins on every inch of wall that wasn’t a window.  The space that wasn’t taken up by electronics was filled with books.  The hallway wall was decorated with family photographs.  Clarke stopped following Lexa to look at the photos.  Some were obviously taken in the 1950s and 1960s.  Clarke didn’t recognize the faces in them, they were obviously a family, though.  Probably Lexa’s grandparents, father, and uncle.  Further down Clarke saw a family portrait with a very young girl with wild chestnut curls and big green eyes and her parents.  Clarke recognized Lexa and noted the similarities between her Ranger and the woman in the family picture.  Her father was a big man who looked scary until you saw the crinkles around his eyes that indicated he laughed and smiled a lot.  Lexa was smiling in the picture and looked like a happy little girl.  Further down Clarke saw Lexa’s Senior picture, complete with cap and gown, her face was a little fuller, but very obviously her Ranger.  A little further along was Lexa in her green class A’s.  Clarke saw the Sergeant First Class rank on her collar, but would have recognized it as a more recent photo by the sharper features and serious expression.  A little further down was Lexa in mess dress shaking hands with the former President.  She wasn’t sure which was more impressive, that Lexa was shaking hands with the President or the figure she cut in the Army’s formal uniform.   _Damn_ , Clarke needed clean underwear.

“Hey, Lex,” Clarke called.

Lexa popped her head out into the hall.  “Hmmm?”

“You’ve ruined my underwear,” Clarke said matter of factly.

“It’s a special skill,” Lexa smirked.

They didn’t leave Lexa’s apartment that evening.  They only left her bed for sustenance and hydration.

****

******May 14, 2017** ** **

Sunday morning dawned and Lexa awoke to Clarke’s fingers gently twisting in chestnut curls.  She turned her head to look at the blue eyed doctor.  

“Good morning,” Clarke husked.

“Good morning,” Lexa smirked.

“What’s so funny this early?”  Clarke inquired with a grin.

“You’ve got wild fuck hair,” Lexa bragged.

“You should see yours,” Clarke smirked back.  

Lexa leaned forward and kissed Clarke, she moved to deepen the kiss but the moment was broken by Clarke’s stomach growling loudly.

Lexa grinned, “I guess we should feed you before another round.”  She kissed Clarke quickly and got of of bed, strolling out of the room without a stitch of clothing.

“Never cook bacon nude,” Clarke shouted after her before flopping back down on the bed.  She replayed the last couple of days over again in her head.  Not just the sex, though there had been a lot of really incredible sex, but the moments in between the sex where they talked about their lives and had philosophical discussions.  The bigger the orgasm, the more profound Lexa’s post coital observations.  Clarke was having difficulty reconciling the highly trained killing machine that existed in Lexa’s records with the woman who giggled at Clarke’s bad jokes and risked her own life to save a German Shepherd.  She could alternately quote The Princess Bride and Voltaire.  Clarke didn’t want to admit it, she certainly wasn’t going to say it to Lexa, but she was falling for the soldier.

When Clarke didn’t smell bacon cooking after awhile she got up and wandered to the kitchen, naked.  She found Lexa, still completely naked flipping a pancake on a cast iron stove top griddle.  A quick glance around the kitchen revealed flour, butter, and eggs on the counter.   _She can make pancakes from scratch, too._ “Marry me,” Clarke moaned.

“You haven’t tasted them yet, save your proposals until after you find out if the lumps cooked out or not,” Lexa grinned over her shoulder.  

Clarke was astounded with how comfortable she was naked with the extensive scarring on her back.  Then Clarke wondered if she was that comfortable with her body, or just that comfortable with Clarke.  Instead of addressing her thoughts, she went another route, “I don’t smell bacon,” Clarke sniffed.  “I can’t marry a girl that doesn’t like bacon.”

Lexa moved two cooked pancakes off the griddle and poured two more before reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a large thick cut ham steak.

“Proposal re-extended,” Clarke said.

“You just want me for my ham,” Lexa smirked.

Clarke stepped up behind Lexa and wrapped her arms around her waist.  She whispered in her ear, “And those long fingers that curl in just exactly the right place.”

“If you don't want burnt pancakes, you probably shouldn’t say things like that,” Lexa leaned her head against Clarke’s where it rested on the Ranger’s shoulder.

“I really like you,” Clarke blurted.

“I really like you, Clarke,” Lexa didn’t take her eyes off of the pancakes as she angled her head to kiss Clarke’s temple.

“You’re kind of perfect, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Clarke admitted.  “Like I’m going to find out you’re married, or a serial killer, or a republican.”

“Never been married, Army Ranger, democratic socialist,” Lexa flipped the pancakes on the griddle.

It was silent for a long moment while Clarke thought about the implications of Lexa’s reply.  The Army Ranger answer was specifically selected to indicate that she had taken lives.  Not a life, lives, Lexa killed people as part of her job.  Well, her old job.

Lexa pulled the last two pancakes off the griddle, opened the ham steak, and dropped it on without pulling out of Clarke’s arms.  The silence wasn’t heavy.  Clarke was processing and Lexa was giving her the time to do so.

“So, democratic socialist was an option when you registered to vote,” Clarke finally said.  Lexa understood it as it was meant, it was:  I understand what you did and I don’t consider it to be an impediment to our impending relationship.

“It wasn’t, I was very disappointed,” Lexa flipped over the ham before kissing Clarke on the temple again.

They talked over breakfast, they talked while they washed up together, it was all very domestic.  They showered together before putting on clothes and cuddling on the couch.

“Are you going to stay here or find another place?”  Clarke asked looking around the living room.

“My uncle was a little crazy,” Lexa said.  It took her several moments to decide to continue, “This wasn’t his only ... residence.”

“Okay,” Clarke had questions, she wasn’t sure she wanted the answers.  “Was he a serial killer?”

Lexa laughed, “No, he was a doomsday prepper.”

“That’s almost worse,” Clarke deadpanned.

Lexa stood up and located the car keys, “Come on.”

Clarke looked at her questioningly.

“You won’t believe me until you see it,” Lexa told her.

****

Pulling up outside the bare bones cabin a while later Clarke observed, “That’s a murder house.”

“Oh, if only it were that simple,” Lexa sighed.

They went inside, Clarke looked concerned.  Lexa rolled up the rug and opened the trapdoor, Clarke looked confused.  Lexa went down the stairs and Clarke followed cautiously.  Lexa unsealed the first door and went further down, curiosity won out and Clarke followed Lexa all the way down into the bunker.

“What the hell is this, Lexa?”  Clarke stared at the living area.

“It’s a disaster proof bunker,” Lexa told her.  “Remember when I told you my life had gotten strange?”

“This _is_ strange,” Clarke agreed.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Lexa sighed.  Lexa lead her down the hall with the monitor, game, armory, gym, and hospital rooms.  She saved the monitor room for last and scrolled through the cameras.  Showing Clarke the security and power systems.

“Where does the water come from?”  Clarke wondered allowed.

Lexa chuckled and headed for the kitchen, Clarke followed along taking in her surroundings.  

“More stairs?”  Clarke complained when Lexa opened the door out of the pantry.

“So many stairs,” Lexa warned.

Clarke shrugged and followed Lexa down to the hydroponic garden.  “You need to add citrus to stave off scurvy,” Clarke advised.  “Are those bees?”  Clarke’s eyes were tracking a few flying insects.

“There’s a bunch of vitamin C tablets in the dry storage room,” Lexa indicated the correct door.  “Calcium and vitamin D, too.  There’s a small hive of bumblebees, I think.  I looked it up, they keep the tomatoes fruiting.  Commercial greenhouses have been using them for decades.”

“Did he think of everything?”  Clarke queried.

“Sure looks that way,” Lexa told her.  “This way to the water supply.”

“This is beautiful,” Clarke gasped when she saw the cavern with its underground lake.  She walked to the edge and crouched down to feel the water.  “Very cold.”

“Yeah, no swimming in the event of the apocalypse,” Lexa joked.

Clarke looked around.  “Completely off the grid.  I bet the state doesn’t even know this is here.”

“They don’t, all that’s registered is the hunting cabin up top.”

“Well, if you build a bunker that can sustain a small army through a nuclear apocalypse, you don’t want anyone coming along and taking it for themselves,” Clarke reasoned.

They trudged back up to the garden.  Lexa pulled a nice bottle of wine from the wine cellar.  Clarke examined the plants more carefully.  “Holy shit, Lexa!  He’s growing marijuana over here!”

“Medicinally, I’m sure,” Lexa said.  “Titus wasn’t one to smoke out and destroy a bag of Doritos.”

“Sounds like you have,” Clarke teased.

“I was a teenager once,” was all Lexa would say.

When Clarke was ready, they trudged up the stairs to the main level.  In the kitchen, Lexa located two wine glasses and uncorked the bottle to breathe while she showed Clarke the bedrooms.  

In the room opposite the one Titus had occupied Clarke pointed to the blank wall above the bed.  “You should hang my painting there.”

Lexa laughed.  They walked back to the kitchen where Lexa poured the wine.  “So, what do you think?”

“I think your uncle was a brilliant, paranoid man,” Clarke said.

“My father told me that his grandparents barely escaped Nazi Germany.  I wonder if maybe Titus heard the stories and wanted to make sure that it never happened to his family again.”

Clarke nodded and sipped her wine.  “He was living here,” she observed.

“I can understand the appeal,” Lexa admitted.  “I’ve been in war zones, I’m safe here.”

“I didn’t see any board games,” Clarke mused.  “You need board games in the apocalypse.”

“We’ll stop at Target on the way home,” Lexa laughed.  “It’s just so surreal.  I knew Titus was odd, but he was always very kind to me.”

“He left you safety during a hypothetical nuclear winter,” Clarke said.  “He even made sure you could get in and out.”  Clarke paused and looked deep in thought.  “”Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why now?  He didn’t know he was going to die in a car accident, so why was this place already set up for you?”  Clarke wondered aloud.  “He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to do something without a reason.”

Lexa thought about it.  She walked out of the kitchen and headed back to the monitor room.  There was a folder in there with a stack of receipts on it, she had assumed it was more receipts.  But Titus was so fastidious that would have put the receipts _in_ the folder if that’s what was in there.  She located the folder and shifted the receipts aside to open it up.  It wasn’t receipts.  She wasn’t sure what it was exactly.  A register of some kind, times and weird coordinates that didn’t make sense with her map training.  

Clarke was peering over her shoulder.  “It’s sequential, look at the number pattern.”

“It’s not any coordinates I’ve ever seen,” Lexa told her.

“Google it,” Clarke suggested.

Lexa typed it into the computer's search field.  She didn’t get web results, she got a document file.  The text was the same clipped tone that Titus communicated with.  “They’re space coordinates.”  

Clarke was reading much faster than Lexa.  “He was tracking an asteroid out of the Kuiper Belt.”

“I understood asteroid,” Lexa admitted.

“The Kuiper Belt is like a huge asteroid belt.  It’s around everything from Neptune to the end of our system.“  Lexa was looking at her very confused.  “One of my best friends is a literal rocket scientist, I know way more about our solar system than any non-space nerd should,” Clarke explained.  

Lexa nodded, still confused.  “These numbers are sequential?”

“Not like 1-2-3 sequential, but there’s a definite pattern,” Clarke told her.  “From his notes it looks to me like he was tracking a really big asteroid out of the Kuiper Belt.  I’d like to see the telescope he was using though”

“How big is really big?”  Lexa feared the answer.

“His notes say between 19 and 26 miles across,” Clarke tells her.  “I need to call Raven if you want to know anymore.”

“We’ll have to go up, there’s no cell service down here,” Lexa explained.

“You know what would be great?”  Clarke asked suddenly.

“What?”  Lexa replied.

“An elevator,” Clarke nodded seriously as Lexa laughed.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix


	4. Burn

Once they reached the top, Lexa stopped in the kitchen to re-cork the wine bottle and bring it with them, Clarke pulled out her phone and got a weak signal.  It had gotten dark, she texted Raven on the way to Lexa’s car.

> **The Other Doctor**
> 
> I need you to call me back, ASAP.
> 
> **The Other Doctor**
> 
> I mean now, Raven.  It’s important.

Lexa started the Outback and headed back down the mountain.

Clarke gave her phone the evil eye.  She knew Raven looked at her phone when she was busy even if she didn’t answer.  She took a chance.

> **The Other Doctor**
> 
> I know about the asteroid.

Incoming Call from **The Doctor**.

“ _How do you know about the asteroid?_ ”  Raven whisper shouted into her ear.

“Never mind that, what do you know about it?”  Clarke asked.

“ _It’s all very classified, Clarke_ ,” Raven told her.  Clarke could hear the note of stress in her voice.  “ _How’s your Mom’s kitten?_ ”

 _Shit_ , it was a warning.  Whatever it was was bad.  Clarke tried to formulate an answer that would convey her understanding.  “Potty training is a problem.  She’s thinking of trying an enclosed cat box.”

She could practically see the wheels spinning in Raven’s mind.  “ _An enclosed cat box … that’s an … interesting solution?_ ”  Raven hadn’t worked out the message.

“O said you guys were planning a trip to Asheville, I think you should do it sooner, rather than later,”  Clarke instructed.

“ _I don’t know if I can get away_ ,” Raven sighed.  “ _It’s kind of crazy here, we’ve got a big visit coming up and everything needs to be perfect or they’ll blow_.”

Clarke understood perfectly.  “Get here as soon as you can,” Clarke told her.  She looked at Lexa who was steering carefully down the dark dirt roads.  “I’ve met someone kind of special and I want you to meet her.”

Lexa glanced at Clarke with a smile before returning her eyes to the treacherous roads.

“ _Get it, Griff!_   _Um, two weeks, maybe_ ,” Raven muttered.  “ _I might be able to get away in two weeks._ ”

Raven was giving her a deadline.  She didn’t know what the deadline was for exactly, but she knew they were on the clock.

“I want to see you before that,” Clarke said seriously.

Raven laughed sadly.  “ _If you see me before that, I’m out of a job.  I’ve got to go.  Have O visit soon, give her my love._ ”

“I will,” Clarke said softly.  “Be safe, Rae.”

 _“I’m trying, Clarke,_ ” Raven ended the call.

“Fuck,” Clarke sighed.

Lexa stopped the car and looked at Clarke.

“It’s bad.  She couldn’t say, but I think it’s heading for Earth and we’ve got about two weeks,” Clarke looked to Lexa.  “I don’t know what happens in two weeks.”

“I would assume that’s when it’s too late to stop it,” Lexa delivered in a monotone she didn’t expect.  She must be getting her first glimpse of Ranger Lexa.  “We’ve got time.”

“She did say if she got away sooner she wouldn’t have a job anymore,” Clarke mumbled.  “Maybe they’re trying to deflect it?”

“Probably,” Lexa agreed.  “How many people do you need to bring into the bunker?”

Soldier Lexa was all business and planning.  Clarke tried not to take it personally.  “Raven and Octavia for certain,” Clarke answered.

“Anya and Lincoln were already coming on Tuesday.  There’s still room for twelve more,” Lexa planned.  “You can’t tell anyone about the … cat box.  Cat box?  Really, Clarke?”  Lexa started to laugh.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to come up with anything better,” Clarke told her.  “She asked about my mom's kitten, that’s like DEFCON One.”

“How, exactly, is that like DEFCON One?”

“I haven’t spoken to my mother in twelve years and I’m severely allergic to cats,” Clarke divulged.  “Anaphylactic shock, severe,” Clarke stressed.  

“Oh,” Lexa nodded.  “Any other severe allergies?”

“No,” Clarke shook her head.  “You?”

“Nothing,” Lexa shook her head, she put the car back in drive and continued down the mountain.

There was a long silence.  “So,” Lexa began.  “Special?”

“The world might be ending and you zero in on ‘special’,” Clarke shook her head.

“The world may be coming to an end and I might not be alone,” Lexa said softly.

“You won’t be alone,” Clarke placed a hand on Lexa’s thigh.  “I don’t know how to decide who lives and who dies.”

Lexa sighed, “I thought I was done making those decisions.”

“You don’t have to make them alone,” Clarke reassured.

Lexa really didn’t have anyone besides Anya and Lincoln that she needed to save, Indra maybe, but Lexa didn’t know how to find her.  Indra was smart and resourceful, she would think of something.  “You should call your other friend and tell her to come.”

Clarke unlocked her phone.  She didn’t want to answer Octavia’s questions.  She wanted one last night with just her and Lexa.  “I’ll call her tomorrow,” she locked her phone.

****

******May 15, 2017** ** **

They spent the night at Clarke’s apartment, naked and writhing.  When morning came, Clarke had to go to work.

“Are you going to be okay?”  Lexa asked cautiously while they dressed for the day.

“I’ve got to be, at least until the rest of the world finds out,” Clarke shrugged.  “I’m going to start sneaking medicine out of the hospital.”

“Clarke,” Lexa started.

“I know.  If it misses us, I’ll get them back before the next inventory,” Clarke kissed her … what were they?  “I know it’s kind of soon, but ... be my girlfriend?”

“Of course, Clarke,” Lexa pulled her in for a hug and quick kiss.  “I gotta lock this down.”

“Yeah, you do,” Clarke smirked.  “I’ll text you when I leave the hospital.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t text me throughout the day.”

They walked out of the building chatting about nothing in particular.  They kissed before getting into their separate cars.  Clarke went to work at the VA, Lexa went to get ready for the apocalypse.

****

> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> I talked to Raven last night.  She wants you to come see me as soon as you can get here.

****

Clarke was having a hard time coming up with a way to get Octavia to Asheville without starting a panic.

****

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Is she coming?
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> As soon as she can.
> 
> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Why does she answer you but not me?
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> Because I told her I have a girlfriend.

****

It wasn’t a total lie.

****

> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Oh, really!?  The date went that well?
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> It went on all weekend.  It sounds so cheesy, but I feel like I’ve known her forever.
> 
> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> I have got to meet the girl that tamed Party Girl Griffin.
> 
> **TheGriffinator**
> 
> Promise me you’ll be nice, she can kill you with her pinky, you know.
> 
> **OctaviaMinor**
> 
> Whatever, she was just seriously injured enough to end up under your care, she can’t be that dangerous right now.  I’ve got a fuckton of vacation days.  I’ll see if I can get away this week.

****

 

Clarke opened exam room four and saw John Murphy.

“You haven’t been waiting all weekend have you?”  Clarke asked, only a little bit serious.

“I got a call on Saturday to come have you go over the x-rays this morning,” Murphy grumbled.  “I’m still at eleven, by the way.”

“Okay, John,” Clarke said.  “I’m going to go see if I can find your x-rays.  If I’m not back in ten, order a pizza.”

“A pizza?”  Murphy looked confused.

“Yeah, the food here sucks, every doctor in the place is drawn to the smell of pizza,” Clarke grinned.

Clarke had to go down to x-ray to find Murphy’s films.  The radiologist who looked at the films had left her detailed notes.  The bullet had shifted and was pressing on a nerve bundle.  It might even be possible to get it out now.  Clarke was torn, as a doctor it was her job to offer her patients the best care available.  As a woman who knew the world could be ending in two weeks, do you force a man to spend his last days on Earth strapped to a hospital bed?  

She paged ortho for a consult, Murphy could say no.  Dr. Harper McIntyre answered the page.  Clarke handed her the x-rays.

“Hello to you, too Dr. Griffin,” Harper snarked.  “Whose x-ray is this?”  Looking closely at it.

“It’s John Murphy,” Clarke admitted.  “What do you think?”

“Where are the old films?”  Harper continue to examine the films.

Clarke pulled them from his x-ray file, Murphy had a lot of x-rays on file.  Harper put the old film next to the new one.

“I’d be willing to try now,” Harper told her.

Clarke pulled the films down, “Care to help me deliver the good news?”

“I almost never get to deliver good news,” Harper grinned.

****

“Where’s my pizza, Murphy?”  Clarke demanded leading Harper into the room.

“I knew you were just using me for free food,” Murphy shook his head.

“Well not anymore,” Clarke rolled her eyes.  “John, I think you remember Dr. McIntyre.”

Murphy grunted at her.

“As friendly as ever,” Harper nodded.  “John, I’m willing to try to take the bullet out.”

Murphy’s eyes lit up, he even smiled.  “Really?”

“Really,” Clarke told him.  “The bullet has shifted out slightly, it’s pushing on a bundle of nerves, which is why your pain is worse.”

“Take it out!”  John practically shouted with glee.  “When can we do the surgery?”

Harper was looking at her schedule.  “I’ve got an OR open tomorrow afternoon.  Lets admit him,” she instructed.

Aside from Murphy, Clarke was having a crap day.  Two cancers and a diabetic with gangrene.  She had collected several bottles of painkillers and antibiotics from patients who left them behind or didn’t survive.  When she heard Lexa’s text tone she smiled.

> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> I installed a washing machine in the kitchen.
> 
> My life seems a lot less exciting in text.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> It all depends on the wording.  
> 
> I condemned two people to death and ordered a man lose an appendage for not following directions.
> 
> See, wording.  How’s your day otherwise?
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> Fine.  Honestly?  I kind of miss you.   I’m positive it’s too soon to say things like that.  But I’ll see something and want to show you and you aren’t here.
> 
> I’m pathetic.
> 
> Tough day at the office?
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> I miss you, too.  
> 
> Terrible really, just one of those days where you know there isn’t anything you can do to help and it sucks.
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> I’m sorry Clarke, I’ll make you cookies.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> Aren’t you supposed to be this super soldier badass?
> 
> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> Badass super soldiers can bake cookies.  I can read a recipe, I am excellent at following directions.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> Yeah, you are. ;D
> 
> ****

Clarke was grinning down at her phone in the doctor’s lounge when Harper found her there.

“Wow,” Harper whistled.  “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Lucky girl, actually,” Clarke blushed.

“Damn, Griff, if I knew you swung both ways I’d have been nicer,” Harper poured a cup of the worst coffee ever.

“You missed your shot, McIntyre,” Clarke grinned.  “I think she’s it for me.”

“How long has this been going on?”  Harper sat down on the lumpy couch a respectable distance from Clarke.

Clarke blushed, “Four days.”

“U-Hauling Level:  Extreme,” Harper snarked.

“I know, I know,” Clarke nodded.  “But it’s different.  You ever meet someone and feel like you’ve always known them?”

“No,” Harper said, but looked like she understood what Clarke was saying.

****

Clarke left the hospital and went to her apartment for a change of clothes.  She packed a few things and went to Lexa’s who was waiting for her with chocolate chip cookies.  The back door had been unlocked and Clarke let herself in and followed the scent of fresh baked cookies up the stairs.

Lexa was moving cookies from the pan onto cooling racks when Clarke reached the top of the stairs.  Clarke stood in the doorway and watched the Ranger be domestic, grinning to herself.

“Are you going to stare at me or come give me a kiss?”  Lexa asked setting the pan and spatula aside.

Clarke smiled and moved into Lexa’s waiting arms.  After a few minutes of soft kisses and hugs, Clarke reached for a cookie behind Lexa.  “Mmmm,” she moaned around a bite.  “Chocolate chip, my favorite.”

“Better?”  Lexa asked.

“Getting there,” Clarke finished her cookie.  “I’m going to take a shower if that’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” Lexa smiled and planted a quick kiss on the doctor’s temple.  

Clarke sighed happily.  She felt like a cliche and she didn’t even care.  “I - you’re perfect,” Clarke stopped herself from saying something that could have gotten awkward very quickly.

“I’m not perfect, Clarke,” Lexa sighed.

“Maybe you are for me,” Clarke whispered into Lexa’s hair before strolling off to the bathroom.

Lexa stood there stunned.  It was too soon, wasn’t it?  Maybe they were rushing because they could be dying in two weeks.  That didn’t feel right, though.  Lexa thought maybe they were rushing because they had done this before in some other lifetime, some other universe.  Without ever discussing it, Lexa knew that Clarke’s favorite color was green.  Not just any green, but the soft green of Lexa’s eyes because Clarke's eyes were Lexa’s favorite shade of blue.  Just like Lexa knew that Clarke’s favorite cookies were chocolate chip, even though it never came up.  

Lexa shook herself from that train of thought and started dinner, a quick carbonara.  She wished she had the equipment on hand for fresh pasta.  Not because she wanted to impress Clarke, okay maybe a little, but because she just preferred fresh pasta to dried.  She made a mental note to hit a restaurant supply store in the morning.  Then wondered where to find fifty or so pounds of semolina before the apocalypse.

She was lost in thoughts of livestock and how to keep them during nuclear winter when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

“That smells incredible,” Clarke practically salivated.

Lexa smiled and put the hand not stirring the pasta in with the sauce where Clarke’s hands joined around her waist.  “My Mom’s carbonara recipe, the secret is to use more yolks.”

“Already sharing secret family recipes,” Clarke kissed the back of her neck.  “You looked very deep in thought a moment ago.”

Lexa pushed the pan off of the still hot burner and turned to kiss Clarke.  Clarke sighed into the gentle kisses and tangled her fingers in long chestnut curls.  When the kiss broke apart Clarke smiled and hummed, adoration in her eyes.  Lexa smiled back, “I wish I could say it was something brilliant or romantic, but I was thinking about bacon.”

“Bacon is pretty serious,” Clarke teased.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “My uncle filled the freezer with a crazy amount of meat, there is also a slightly disturbing amount of dried meats.  But he didn’t seem to plan for when that ran out.  I’m not sure I want to live in a world without bacon, or ham for that matter.”   

“I see your point,” Clarke nodded.  “I don’t think there’s room for pigs in the bunker.”

“I don’t either and it bothers me, because it seems like something he would have thought of,” she said.  “I must be missing something, again.”

“Have you found the plans for the bunker?”

“No, they aren’t here,” Lexa pulled away from Clarke and reached for bowls.  “They aren’t in with the piles of documentation in the monitor room, either.”  She filled the bowls with the carbonara and handed one to Clarke.  “I still haven’t gone into his room.”

Clarke shoveled a bite of the pasta into her mouth and moaned, “Oh God, that’s really good!”

They talked about nothing in particular all through dinner and ate homemade cookies in front of the television for dessert.  They made love in Lexa’s bed before falling asleep and dreaming about each other.  Clarke dreamed of Lexa as a warrior queen, Lexa dreamed of Clarke as an embattled leader.

****

******May 16, 2017** ** **

“This town has got to be really safe if you can leave your door unlocked and fuck all night,” a strange voice shouted into the room.  Clarke shot bolt upright in the bed to lock eyes with a terrifying looking woman with bleached blonde hair and a sharper face than Lexa’s.

“Anya, fuck,” Lexa groaned into her pillow.  “Get out.”

“Nice tits,” Anya smirked at Clarke.

Clarke yanked up the blankets that had fallen exposing her bare chest.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t,” Lexa growled a little, still not raising her head.

“When they’re right there, I’m going to notice,” Anya defended.  “Well done, by the way.”

“Anya, stop leering at my girlfriend,” she turned her head to look at her alarm clock.  “Why are you even here before seven in the morning?”

“We drove all night,” a male voice called from somewhere in the hall.  “Cover your naughty bits, I want to see your scars.”

“I swear to God, Lincoln, if you come in here, I will snap your scrawny neck,” Lexa threatened.

“I haven’t been scrawny since the tenth grade and you know it,” Lincoln called back.

Clarke was looking at Lexa with a mix of humiliation, horror, and humor.

“Can you both just get the fuck out so we can get dressed?”  Lexa snarled.   

Anya shrugged and pulled the door closed.

“I am so sorry, Clarke,” Lexa said softly.  “I didn’t expect them until this afternoon.”

“I should have locked the door behind me last night,” Clarke told her.  “I can’t believe your best friend saw my boobs before you even introduced us.”

****

When they exited Lexa’s bedroom, Anya was eating the leftover carbonara while Lincoln made omelettes.

“I’ve missed your mom’s carbonara,” Anya said between bites.

“You better have brought some momo if you’re sitting there polishing off my lunch,” Lexa threatened.

“In the fridge,” Anya smirked.

“Momo are not for breakfast,” Linc said.  “Especially not Aunt Hema’s spicy momo.”

“He says as he puts jalapenos and salsa on an omelette,” Anya snarked.

Lexa checked the unfamiliar containers in the fridge and found a couple dozen of the delicious Nepalese dumplings and two containers of sauces.  Lexa sniffed deeply, but cold dumplings have less of a spicy scent.  She closed the fridge and looked at a slightly uncomfortable Clarke.

“I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly.  “Clarke, meet Anya and Lincoln Forrester.  They’re cousins who think they are siblings.”

“Our Dads were twins,” Lincoln explained.  “They’re close, so we’re close.”  He slipped an omelette onto a plate and passed it to Lexa.  “It’s lovely to meet you, Clarke.”  Lincoln offered her a hand to shake before turning back to pour more eggs into the skillet.  “Any requests for your omelette, Clarke?”

“Um, h-ham and cheese,” she stammered.  “It’s lovely to meet you, too.”

“She’s less impressive with clothes,” Anya smirked.

Clarke went from nervous to annoyed in a blink, “She’s standing right here and doesn’t appreciate you leering at her.”

“Feisty,” Anya shoveled another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

“Anya, stop,” Lexa commanded.

“Spoilsport,” Anya moped.

“Will she back off if I knock the hell out of her?”  Clarke asked.

“Nope,” Lincoln replied handing her a plate with her omelette.  “Eat.”

Clarke sat at the table and did as instructed while Anya gave her the side eye.  “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Anya smirked.

“Okay, I’m going to the hospital, I can’t take anymore of her,” Clarke stood up and kissed Lexa.

“I’m sorry,” Lexa whispered.  “I’ll talk to her.”

“Or beat her to death,” Clarke said.  “I’m good with either.”

“I’ll see you tonight?”  Lexa sounded unsure and it made Clarke’s heart break.

“Even she can’t keep me away,” Clarke kissed Lexa softly before leaving.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burn - Deep Purple


	5. Bad Moon Rising

The morning sped by with many appointments and consults.  Clarke had received a series of texts from Lexa apologizing for Anya.  She would have been more upset about Anya if she hadn’t known that Octavia and Raven were just as bad as Anya.  

Octavia had texted an hour ago that she was heading down in the morning.  One less thing to worry about.  Clarke had texted Raven that Octavia was headed to Asheville.  She still hadn’t figured out a way to express to Raven that they had a safe place to hunker down.  She tried again.

****

> **The Other Doctor**
> 
> Do you remember when we were kids and we would see storm shelters on television and not understand what they were?  Now I’ve got one at my new house.

****

Clarke couldn’t be any clearer without revealing to anyone who might be watching Raven’s communications that she had access to a bunker.

 

**The Doctor**

Brendan Fraser was hot in Blast From the Past.

****

_Finally!_  Raven had gotten the message.

****

Clarke was in the OR when Harper removed the bullet from John Murphy’s spine. Not being a surgeon she wasn’t allowed to do anything but observe.  It had gone very well, Harper was confident that Murphy’s pain would become manageable with time.

The surgeons were scrubbing out when Clarke’s phone rang with an unknown number.  In another time, she wouldn’t answer a call from an unknown number.  Life had gotten strange.

“Dr. Griffin,” she answered the call and stepped into a bathroom.

“I’ve only got a minute, I can only keep this line secure that long,” it was Raven.  “I built a missile, but they want to wait until it’s pretty much too late before launching it to make sure they at least hit it.  I’ve run thousands of simulations, if they wait as long as they plan to wait, it’s still an extinction level event.  Everything on the surface will burn, nuclear winter.  That’s just the facts.  I’m still trying to convince them to launch earlier.  If they miss it, the whole planet is space dust.  We’ve probably got about three days left before every yahoo with a reasonably powerful telescope can see it coming.  Talk quick.”

“We’ve got a hermetically sealed bunker underground.  It’s safe, it’s secure, it’s stocked with ten years worth of food.  Get to me as soon as you can,” Clarke said quickly.

“If I can’t get to you, Clarke ... I love you guys.  It’s been an honor,” the line clicked off.

Clarke sat on the floor of the bathroom and cried.  She wasn’t sure how long she had been there when she heard her text tone.

> **Sergeant Sexy**
> 
> I found the plans.
> 
> **Doctor Hot Stuff**
> 
> I just talked to Rae, meet me at mine.  Leaving VA soon.

****

Clarke got up, dusted off her slacks and washed her face.  She needed to load up on antibiotics and pain meds.  She unlocked a medicine closet in the OR and filled her pockets with vials.  She lined the waistband of her slacks with suture and surgical kits.  She found her way down to the morgue and the unclaimed items stored down there and found an old well worn rucksack.  It had probably came in on a homeless vet who was still unclaimed down here.  She dumped the contents into the garbage and filled it with the vials and kits she had stolen from the OR closet.  She stashed the ruck and went back up to her floor to fill her pockets with pain meds and antibiotics in pill form.  Another trip down to the basement to add them to the bag.  She went up to Psych and swiped a badge from a nurse practitioner to gain access to their med closet where she filled her pockets again.  She made one last trip down to the morgue to fill the bag and then slipped out into the parking deck from a maintenance hallway the morgue guys liked to smoke in.  It was empty.  She put the pack in the trunk of her car and went back into the hospital.

She stuck her head in John Murphy’s room.  He was still out but Harper was there checking on him.  “How is he?”

“Everything looks good,” Harper said.  “Shouldn’t you be on your way to that girlfriend of yours?”

“I wanted to check on Murphy before I left, I’m off the next two,” Clarke told her.  

“He’ll still be here when you get back,” Harper grinned.  “Go on.”

Clarke nodded and went down to the garage via the main path.  She climbed into her car and was relieved to get out of the deck and onto the main road.  It only took her five minutes to get to her apartment where Lexa was waiting in her car.  Clarke took the ruck out of her trunk and moved it to Lexa’s car as the Ranger climbed out to hug and kiss the frazzled doctor.

“Hey beautiful,” Lexa smiled.

Clarke wrapped Lexa tightly in her arms and just breathed her in.  “It’s bad, so bad.”  They stayed like that for a long moment before Clarke pulled away to look for Anya and Lincoln.  “What did you do with Cheekbones and Muscles?”

“I left them at the bunker, Lincoln got a little gung ho, Anya’s trying to figure something out,” Lexa said vaguely.  “I got the WiFi working though, so as long as there is internet to be had we’ll have it.”

Up in Clarke’s apartment, quick packing turned into quick kissing which turned into stress relief sex.

As they laid together naked in the afterglow, Lexa spoke, “What did Raven say?”

“She built a missile, but they want to launch it too late, at best we’re looking at an extinction level event,”  Clarke told her, half lying under Lexa.  “It’s three days from anyone with a reasonably powerful telescope being able to see it.  Three days until the world goes crazy.”

“Clarke,” Lexa breathed.

“Hmmm,” Clarke hummed.

“I love you,” Lexa spoke so softly that Clarke wasn’t sure she heard what she thought she heard.  

Clarke shifted them around to look Lexa in the eye.  “Say that again.”

Lexa looked so small and afraid that Clarke didn’t believe she was a badass Airborne Ranger.

“I love you, Clarke,” Lexa breathed.

Clarke kissed her softly, gently, and with love.  

“I know it’s soon, but I feel like I’ve known you all my life,” Lexa said.  “A hundred lifetimes.”

“I feel it, too,” Clarke admitted.  “I love you, too, Lexa.”

Lexa’s happy kisses led to another round of lovemaking.

****

They loaded a large portion of Clarke’s possessions into the back of Lexa’s car.  Including all of Clarke’s medical textbooks.  They stopped and picked up a half dozen pizza’s before driving out to the mountain.

“Don’t you think six pizza’s is excessive?”  Clarke asked incredulous.

“Nope,” Lexa grinned.

****

Lexa took the Outback off road after re-locking the gate.  Clarke was confused until a path became clear.  After a couple of miles around the mountain, Lexa steered into a cave mouth just big enough to pull the car into.  It was a tunnel that went back thirty yards before opening up into an artificially lit cavern.  Lexa parked the Outback and walked to a panel installed in the wall while Clarke watched curiously.  She pushed a code into the keypad and a large steel door rolled down.

“Uncle Titus the crazy genius,” Clarke said grabbing a bag with clothes and toiletries and the ruck full of medicine.

“You haven’t even seen the half of it,” Lexa carried the pizzas and another of Clarke’s bags and lead Clarke down a tunnel, there were rope lights on the cave floor guiding the way.  The tunnel opened into another cavern with a slow moving subterranean river.  Clarke glanced around and saw another set up similar to the one in the underwater lake that tested the water.  On the opposite side of the cave there were half built stalls and piles of lumber near what Clarke thought was probably a smokehouse.  There were literally hundreds of hay bales stacked toward the back of the cavern.  Lexa kept walking and Clarke followed her into another tunnel.  This one had a sealed door about fifteen feet in.

Lexa waited for Clarke to get to the door.  “Put your thumb on the scanner,” Lexa instructed.

Clarke did as asked.  The scanner beeped and turned green, she could hear the door unseal.  “You put me in the system.  How?”

“Anya lifted your print off of the wine glasses from the other day.  Did I tell you that Anya used to be a private investigator?”  Lexa led Clarke into a familiar type of corridor.

“You did not,” Clarke replied.  “What does she do now?”

“Trains MMA fighters and teaches self-defense,” Lexa answered.

“So, beating Anya to death isn’t really an option,” Clarke reasoned.

“Not at all,” Lexa smiled.  They had walked thirty yards before coming to the next door.  Lexa put her thumb on the pad and waited for it to take her body temperature before unsealing.  They stepped into an airlock.  The door resealed and Clarke heard the air recycle before the door ahead of them unsealed at Lexa’s touch.  

“There’s not an airlock on the stairs,” Clarke observed.

“There actually are, each section acts as it’s own airlock, they are just so big you don’t notice it,” Lexa explained pulling open the door and leading Clarke to a blank wall.

“Babe, we seem to have come to a dead end,” Clarke said.

Lexa reached around and pushed a recessed section of wall and the wall ahead of them swung open.

Clarke looked around, “We’re in the pantry.”

“We’re in the pantry,” Lexa nodded.

“What took you so long?”  Anya called from the kitchen.

Lexa waved the stack of pizzas at her.

“Bullshit,” Anya said.  “You had to stop and be all sappy romantic lovers, didn’t you?”

Clarke turned red.

“Anya,” Lexa sighed.

Anya grabbed the pizzas and carried them to the main living area along with the beers she had been in the kitchen to grab.  

Clarke looked at the impressive stack of boxes in the center of the kitchen.  “Building a box fort?”  She teased.

“No,” Lexa sighed.  “Lincoln decided we needed more MRE’s because the apocalypse isn’t bad enough on it’s own.”

Clarke laughed.  “I’ve heard stories about the chicken ala king.”

“Chicken ala king is old school, they don’t make it anymore.  Now it’s beef enchilada that you want to avoid,”  Lexa grinned.  “Also anything labeled omelette, those are Meals Rejected by Enemy.”  Lexa reached to take Clarke’s heavy duffle bag off her shoulder.  “Let’s get your stuff dropped in a room,” Lexa paused.  “I guess I should ask if you want to stay with me or have a room of your own?”

Clarke raised an eyebrow at her.

“I don’t want to make decisions for you, Clarke,” Lexa sighed.

Clarke kissed her softly, “I know, that’s why I love you.”

Lexa smiled and Clarke melted at the sight.  They walked down the hallway to their room where Clarke’s painting was hanging right where she joked it should hang.  Clarke dropped her bags on the loveseat against the front wall.  She took the time to really examine the room.  There was the loveseat and a tall bookshelf against the front wall.  A cursory glance told her they were mostly history and military issue survival and training guides. On the back wall was the king sized bed with a night table on either side.  There was a large dresser on the left wall, the right wall had a desk with two computer towers, both connected to a flat screen up on the wall.

“That wasn’t here before,” Clarke observed.

“It wasn’t, I did that today,” Lexa said.  “I wanted to be able to watch movies and eat cookies with you in the apocalypse.”

Clarke wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and buried her face in Lexa’s neck.  “If I wasn’t starving, you wouldn’t have pants on right now.”

“You say the sweetest things,” Lexa chuckled.  “Come on, let’s go wrestle a pizza away from Linc.”

****

Full of cold pizza and getting drowsy, Clarke remembered Octavia.  Her phone didn’t have any data, but the WiFi was strong.  She opened her email app and sent Octavia an email telling her to email not text when she was close to Asheville.  She gave her Lexa’s address to meet her at.

The four of them had been sitting in the living area watching television, Lincoln had arranged the sofas for best viewing instead of conversation.  Lincoln had noted that the NASA channel was essentially off the air.  It was running a blank screen and playing muzak.  Lexa and Anya were chatting quietly while Clarke dozed with her head on Lexa’s lap.

“Take your girlfriend to bed, Lex,” Anya said nodding at Clarke.

“I’m fine,” Clarke muttered sleepily.  

****

******May 17, 2017** ** **

She woke up in their bed next to a still sleeping Lexa, wearing the clothes she had on before crashing.  The lack of windows made it impossible to guess what time it was.  If Lexa was still asleep it must be early.  There was a little light in the room creeping in from the bathroom area, Lexa must have wanted to make sure Clarke could see where she was if she woke in the night.  Clarke looked at the incredible woman sleeping next to her, a warm feeling in her chest at Lexa’s considerate nature.

Clarke spotted her phone on the bedside table, plugged in.  Badass Army Ranger carries sleeping girlfriend to bed, tucks her in, and plugs in her phone.  If all of society wasn’t a week from breaking down completely, Clarke would have to marry Lexa, sooner rather than later.  She picked up her phone to check the time, 6:27am.  Octavia had emailed at 5:30 that she was getting on the road.  Clarke did the math and knew she needed to be topside by 4:30pm.

She rolled out of bed and headed for the shared bathroom.  She wasn’t sure who was in the next room, but their door was shut tight.  She had failed to fully inspect the bathrooms on her previous trips into the dorms, barracks?  They were surprisingly large with both a large bathtub and a shower stall.  Dual sinks, large shelves and two closets one deep and filled with towels and linens for the bedrooms, the other held a high capacity water heater.  The area under the sink contained a full first aid kit, shaving kit, hair dryer, cleaning supplies, extra lotions and soaps, and assorted feminine supplies.  There was a section of three drawers that contained assorted combs and brushes, hair ties, manicure kits, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, and assorted deodorants.   _That crazy guy really did think of everything_.

After finishing her business in the bathroom she looked in the closet.  It was a really big closet.  Just inside the door, she saw the bags she and Lexa had carried in under the rest of the bags that they had left in the car.  Further in, the back wall was was all shelves, the walls on either side had rods to hang clothes on with a shelf above them.  The wall by the door had neither shelves nor rods, what it did have was an easel and a pallet load of canvases stacked against it.  There was a footlocker under several bags from a local art supply store.

“I was going to surprise you with them tomorrow,” Lexa said softly from the bedroom.  “I bought up every canvas they had.  The trunk is full of sketchbooks.  Lincoln will probably ask you to share.”

“You’re babbling, Lex,” Clarke said.

“You weren’t saying anything, I got nervous,” Lexa admitted.

“You can topple regimes, attack armies, leap out of moving airplanes, but I make you nervous?”  Clarke stepped over to her girlfriend and put her arms around her shoulders.

“You do, the worst any of those things could do is kill me,” Lexa whispers.  “I can handle death.  You have my heart, I need my heart.”

Clarke kissed her deeply, quickly getting heated.   She pulled away, gently biting Lexa’s bottom lip.  “Your heart is safe with me, I gave you mine as collateral,” Clarke dives in for another kiss, tugging at the hem of Lexa’s nightshirt, pulling it over Lexa’s head.

“Why are you in pajamas and I’m still in last night’s jeans?”  Clarke asked between kisses, pushing Lexa back into the bedroom.

“I didn’t want to strip you without your knowledge,” Lexa replied as Clarke sucked on her earlobe.  

“You have my permission to strip me now,” Clarke licked at her neck and let her hands trail to Lexa’s bare breasts.

Lexa didn’t hesitate, her hands flew to unbutton and unzip Clarke’s jeans.  Then tugged at the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head when Clarke separated her lips from Lexa’s bare skin.  Before Lexa could shift her attention to pushing off Clarke’s jeans, Clarke slid her fingers into the waistband of the Ranger’s flannel pajama pants and dragged them down along with her underwear.  Clarke dropped to her knees as she pulled Lexa’s sleep pants down.  Lexa wasn’t aware how close they were to the bed until Clarke pushed her back and she landed on the bed with Clarke between her knees.  If Lexa hadn't already been wet, the hungry look on the blonde’s face would have been enough to get her there.

Clarke kissed her way up Lexa’s inner thighs, keeping her eyes locked with the Ranger.  Her hands slid up her outer thighs and settled with handfuls of the Ranger’s perfect heart shaped ass.  She gently pulled Lexa right to the edge of the bed, nudging her thighs open further with her kisses.   Lexa’s hands slid into blonde waves, gently running her fingers through them.  When Clarke slipped her tongue into the Ranger’s folds, her hands reflexively clenched, Clarke moaned, both at the taste of Lexa on her tongue and the reflexive hair pulling.

****

A little after nine Clarke and Lexa wandered into the kitchen, dressed for the day with hair still damp from a shared post-coital shower.   Lincoln was there cooking a skillet of home fries, bacon draining on a paper towel covered plate near the cook top.

“Mmmmm,” Lexa sniffed the air.

“You’re just in time to start some pancakes,” Lincoln nodded to the flat top.

Lexa grunted, reaching into the cabinets for flour and leavening.  “Why isn’t Anya on pancake duty?”

“She took her truck this morning and muttered something about an auction,”  Lincoln shrugged.  “I have no idea what she’s up to.  Clarke, I put your medical books and the drugs in the infirmary, but you might want to put them away.”  He pulled a key ring out of his pocket and passed it to her.  “Breakfast in fifteen.”

Clarke nodded and headed for the infirmary.  The door was open and her books were piled on the gurney.  The backpack next to them.  Clarke looked at the key ring and then around the room.  There was a locking cabinet near the door, Clarke unlocked it and examined the contents.  It was already pretty well stocked with medications, Clarke re-arranged it more to her liking and loaded in the medications she had stolen from the hospital.  She left the textbooks where they were for the time being.  There wasn’t anywhere to move them to currently.  When she returned to the mess hall, Lincoln was setting a table.

“We need a smaller table for the kitchen,” he said off hand.

“I need a bookshelf for the infirmary, so we can get both at the same time,” Clarke told him.

Lexa came in carrying plates of food.  “Anything else?  I need to run by the slaughterhouse and pick up the order.”

“Slaughterhouse?”  Clarke asked.

“It seemed like the least obvious way to get a whole lot of smoked, cured, and fresh beef and pork,” Lexa answered.  “I told them I’m having a really big family reunion.”

“See if you can get a meat saw at the restaurant supply store,” Lincoln interjected.

Lexa nodded.

****

Lexa and Clarke had finished their errands and made a trip back to the bunker to drop everything off with plenty of time to get back into town to meet Octavia.  They were a little surprised when they came around the curve of the rocky outcrop by the cave opening to find the cave entrance blocked by a large truck.

“Anya’s back,” Lexa said climbing out of the Outback.  They squeezed past the Ford F-350 into the outer cave to see a trailer backed into the tunnel.

They managed to squeeze through and found Anya and Lincoln trying to corral six cows.  There were already ten pigs in a temporary pen.

“Throw me your keys,” Lexa called and Anya did as asked.  Clarke leaned against the wall to watch the Forrester’s try to steer cattle into a temporary pen.  Lexa pulled the truck and trailer out into the woods and backed the Outback in.  The two of them quickly unloaded their haul into the cave for Linc and Anya to carry inside.  There were desks, bookshelves, a table, and an obscene amount of meat and canned goods.  The meat saw was being delivered to the apartment along with bulk grains and flours.

Lexa tossed Anya her keys back and waved at the pile.  

“I am not a pack mule, Lex,” Lincoln shouted as Clarke and Lexa climbed back into the Outback to go meet Octavia at Lexa’s.

****

The meat saw would not fit in the Outback with all of the grain sacks.  

“Why did we need a fifty pound bag of semolina?”  Clarke asked.  They were in the downstairs breakroom area, waiting.

“Pasta,” Lexa told her.

“We didn’t buy a pasta roller, babe,” Clarke pointed out.

“I bought one on Monday, it’s upstairs,” Lexa ran up the stairs.

There was a knock on the front door.  Clarke hurried to answer it, knowing it was Octavia.  She flung the door open and Octavia hugged her.  

“God, I’ve missed you, Griff,” Octavia pushed her back to get a good look at her.  “You look good, Clarke.”

“I feel good,” Clarke started before being snatched up by a larger person and kissed roughly.  Clarke pushed and struggled to get away while he grabbed her ass.  

Lexa had come down the stairs just in time to see a big man grab Clarke and force himself on her.  She ran over, grabbed him by the hair and yanked him to the ground by his thick black curls.  She planted a foot on his throat, “Never touch my girlfriend like that!”

“Fuck,” he struggled to breathe.  “I didn’t know!”

“You didn’t know it wasn’t okay to sexually assault someone?” Lexa said coldly.

“We used to fuck,” the man coughed.

“Previous intimacy is not an invitation to force yourself on someone,” Lexa growled.

Clarke had never seen Lexa the warrior before, Clarke needed dry panties.

“I like the new girlfriend,” Octavia nodded.  To Lexa she said,  “I apologize for my brother, he’s stupid.”

“Not an excuse,” Lexa snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Bellamy struggled for air.

“It’s okay, babe,” Clarke soothed.  “I think he’s learned his lesson.”

“I have,” Bellamy agreed.  “Consent is important.”

Lexa removed her foot from his throat and stepped away.  She watched him carefully as he got to his feet.

“I’m sorry, Clarke,” Bellamy said sincerely.

“I’ll let it go this time,” she told him.  “Octavia, Bellamy, I’d like for you to meet Lexa Woods, my badass girlfriend.”

“I’m thrilled to meet the woman that tamed Clarke,” Octavia offered her hand to shake.

Lexa took the proffered hand, “I didn’t tame her, she’s her own person.”

Octavia glanced at Clarke to see her giving Lexa heart eyes.  “God, you’re gross.”

Bellamy held out a hand to shake, Lexa raised an eyebrow at him.  “Right,” he put his hands in his pockets.

“Why don’t you guys come sit down?  We have a lot to talk about,” Clarke lead the way into the kitchen.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival


	6. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

Bellamy was shell shocked.  The problem with coming from a place of privilege, is that when life takes an unexpected turn, you are completely unprepared for things to change.  The Blakes weren’t well off, they didn’t have any social standing, but they were, as the saying went: free, white, and over 21.  Bellamy had the extra advantage of being male.  

This is not to say that Octavia wasn’t struggling with the idea of the end of the world.  Billions of lives lost, everything she had ever known wiped away, it was a blow.  But Octavia, being the unwanted youngest child of a drug addict and some unknown john, was used to being treated poorly and didn’t have much compassion for the world at large.  She had always identified with the social outcasts and the downtrodden.  It made her a hell of a good cop.

Bellamy went to college on a football scholarship, he was worshiped by their community as a sports hero.  His mother may have been an addict, but she never hurt him, physically or emotionally, he knew who his father was.  He was overprotective of his little sister, it was his alpha male job to protect her from the world.  When she got accepted to the Police Academy, Bellamy threw a fit.  They didn’t speak the entire time she was away.  When she returned she refused to ask his forgiveness.  He realized his option had become accept her for who she was or lose her forever.  So Bellamy Blake begrudgingly accepted his sister’s job.  He never missed an opportunity to point out how dangerous it was.

****

After Clarke explained everything, they decided it was best to give the Blakes some time to think it over on the way to the bunker.  They followed along behind Lexa and Clarke.  The gate was open and Lexa chose to leave it that way until she was sure Anya was in for the day, which was a good call because Anya’s giant truck wasn’t in the cave.  There was just enough room to get both cars in with the temporary pens.

“This has got to be some kind of sick joke,” Bellamy burst climbing out of Octavia’s car.

Lexa gave him a withering look from the back end of the Outback.

“Raven confirmed, weren’t you listening,” Octavia said.

“Raven pulls shit like this all the time,” Bell argued.

“Raven sends twenty-five pizzas or subscribes you to gay porn,” Clarke told him trying to grip a 50lb bag of oats.  “This would be cruel.”

Lexa raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend who had given up trying to get the bag.

“How do you think I figured out I liked girls, too?”  Clarke shrugged. “That was a good year.”

“Maybe for you,” Octavia complained. She looked pointedly at Lexa, “Clarke explored her sexuality on the other side of a very thin wall in a very small apartment.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Clarke griped.

“I have trauma, Clarke!”  Octavia pressed.

“This is bullshit,” Bell shouted, a cow mooed.  “You stay out of it!”

“Stop scaring the cows,” Lincoln appeared in the tunnel.

All eyes turned to a shirtless, sweaty Lincoln.  "If you scare them we won't get milk."  He said as if that answered every question on their tongues.

Octavia looked at shirtless, sweaty Lincoln like a starving person at a buffet.  Clarke nudged Lexa and nodded toward the thirsty woman.  Lexa grinned.

"Hey Linc, come meet the Blakes," Lexa called.

Lincoln wiped his brow on the back of his hand and walked to the group.  His eyes caught Octavia's and he smiled.  He walked right to her and put out his hand, "Staff Sergeant Lincoln Forrester, US Army, at your service."

Octavia grabbed his hand like a woman with no intention of ever letting it go, "Octavia Blake, NYPD."

Lexa rolled her eyes, Clarke chuckled.

Bellamy cleared his throat and when that didn't work he tried to push himself between Lincoln and Octavia.  He didn't fare much better but Lincoln at least looked at him.

"Bellamy Blake, big brother," he said sternly.  Octavia rolled her eyes.

Lincoln replied, "Nice to meet you," but he only had eyes for the tiny woman in front of him.  "Let me show you to your quarters."

"You can show me to yours," Octavia flirted.

"O!"  Bellamy shouted.  "I'm standing right here!"

"Then go stand somewhere else," she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

Bellamy fumed.  "This is insane, Clarke!  It's not fucking funny."

"No, it's not," Lexa said evenly.  "And no one has the time for you to act like a petulant child.  You can either help carry these provisions in, or go back to wherever you came from."

Lincoln took notice of the bags in the back of the car and stepped forward, slinging one over his shoulder in one smooth move.  Octavia grabbed a smaller sack and followed behind him.  "So, what do you do in the Army?"

"Twelve bravo, combat engineer," he replied as they moved off down the tunnel.

Bellamy tried to hurry after them but Lexa grabbed his arm and dropped a flour sack into his arms.

Once they were out of earshot, Lexa looked at Clarke, "He's going to be a problem."

"He'll adjust," Clarke shrugged before leaning in to give Lexa a quick peck.  "You haven't said anything about my 'previous intimacy' with him."

"What happened before we met isn't my business unless you want it to be.  You're a grown woman, your choices are your own," Lexa told her.  Clarke might have swooned a little.  "I don't consider him a rival, if that's what you're concerned about."

Clarke was still swooning over how perfect Lexa was when the words slipped out, "I love you."

"I know," Lexa grinned.  "Why do you think I'm unconcerned about Mr. Blake?"

Clarke surged forward for a deeper kiss.  When they separated Lexa said, "I love you, too."

"Want to give the cows a show?"  Clarke flirted.

Lexa shook her head, "Anya's back."

Clarke strained her ears and heard the big truck’s engine a split second before it appeared at the mouth of the cave.

While Lexa directed Anya backing in, Linc reappeared with Octavia still very close to him chatting quietly.  Bellamy was a few feet behind them looking surly.

Anya had a trailer packed with caged chickens and chicken feed.  "I hate chickens," Lexa groaned.

"What did chickens ever do to you?" Clarke nudged her shoulder.

"They're vicious, Clarke," Lexa said.  "I was attacked on a field trip to the petting zoo in third grade."

"You weren't attacked," Anya laughed.  "They chased you."

"One jumped on my head, Anya," Lexa said seriously.  "And pecked at my skull."

"It wanted her shiny hair barrette," Anya whispered to Clarke.  "You don't have to like them, you have to feed them, water them, breed them, collect eggs from them, and eat them.  When you think about it, that’s all a lot easier to do if you don’t like them.”

****

They had settled the Blake’s into a four bed room in the bunker.  It was the solution that resulted in the least fighting between the siblings.  Dinner had been served and consumed and they were lounging on the sofas watching television when CNN started to run the Breaking News banners in the PIP in the top corner of the screen.  Lincoln had insisted on keeping the news channel on in the picture in picture regardless of what else they were watching.  Linc pushed the button to switch them just as a grainy telescope image of the asteroid appeared on the screen.

“... estimated to be twenty-one miles wide.  NASA refuses to comment.  Britain's Prime Minister has confirmed that scientists at Jodrell Bank have been tracking the asteroid and working with NASA to formulate a plan.”

Bellamy had six beers in him and had mellowed out until he saw it on the news.  “It’s not a fucking joke.”  Tears formed in his eyes, “It’s not a joke.”

“It’s not a joke, man,” Lincoln said from the other side of Octavia.

****

After listening to the same things reported three times, without variation, Clarke and Lexa retired to their room.  “I need to go to the hospital tomorrow,” Clarke said wrapping her arms around her Ranger.

“I know,” Lexa replied into her hair.

“How do you know?”  Clarke looked into green eyes.

“Because you have patients that you want to give comfort to,” Lexa sighed.  “You can’t save everyone, Clarke.”

“Not everyone, Lex,” Clarke sighed.  “There’s a guy, he took a bullet to the spine in Fallujah.  We just took it out.  I can’t stand the idea of him spending his last days on Earth trapped in a hospital bed suffering before he dies.”

“What’s his name?”  Lexa kissed her temple.

“Specialist John Murphy,” Clarke replied.

Lexa nodded, “About a year ago.”

“How do you know that?”  

“I slit the throat of the insurgent that fired the shot,” Lexa confessed.  “The other insurgents with him took bullets to the skull.”

“So I can bring him here?”  Clarke asked hopefully.

“I’ll help you break him out of the hospital,” Lexa grinned.  “I’ve got experience in carrying off injured parties.”

Clarke kissed her girlfriend.  It escalated quickly and before long they were naked in the bed.

****

******May 18, 2017** ** **

Shortly after dawn, Clarke and Lexa borrowed Anya’s overly large truck.  As a precautionary measure, Lexa was armed to the teeth.  Clarke was pretty sure they had gone past rescue mission and into invasion territory.  The Ranger was in her BDU’s with a bulletproof vest under her shirt, a 9mm sidearm on her belt and a knife tucked into each boot.  She had tucked another 9mm into a shoulder holster under her BDU shirt, a third into the back of her waistband.  Ammo clips were stuffed into multiple pockets.  Into the truck she loaded an M-16 A2 and a shotgun along with multiple clips for the rifle and a full box of shells for the shotgun.

“Babe, we’re going to a hospital, not a war zone,” Clarke teased.

“Clarke, the news broke that a planet annihilating asteroid is headed this way.  Even a town as mild-mannered as Asheville is likely already in riot mode,” Lexa said seriously.  “I thought we might have a few more days to get ready.”

“You really think it’s that bad already?”  Clarke looked at the shotgun tucked beside her.

“I do,” Lexa started the truck and pulled out of the cave.

****

Lexa wasn’t wrong.  They stopped by her apartment to grab the meat saw before someone could break in and steal it, then headed for the hospital.  Clarke directed Lexa where to park to have the best access to the maintenance corridor out of the hospital.  They slipped in that way and didn’t see anyone.  Into the elevator and up to the floor where Murphy was assigned.  When Clarke pushed open his door she was surprised to see Harper talking to an alert Murphy.

“Dr. Griffin,” Harper greeted.  “I didn’t expect to see you today.  With an armed escort to boot.”

“Hey, Dr. McIntyre,” Clarke was unsure how to proceed.

“Sergeant Woods?”  Murphy squinted at Lexa.

“Specialist,” Lexa nodded.  “We’re going to get you to a safe location.”

“Clarke, you can’t be serious,” Harper said.  “He just had spinal surgery.”

“If he stays in that bed he dies here with everyone else,” Clarke said through gritted teeth.

“Are you going to save them all, Clarke?”  Harper asked.  “There are hundreds more here that can’t get out of their beds.”

“I can only save the man I condemned to that bad,” Clarke told her.

“You didn’t shoot him, Clarke,” Lexa said.

“No, but I asked Harper to take out the bullet when I knew the asteroid was coming,” Clarke choked.

“You knew,” Harper turned on her.  “You knew and didn’t say anything?!”

“What was I going to say, Harper?  What?”  Clarke was verging on hysterics.

“Clarke, love, you’ve got to calm down,” Lexa soothed.  “Dr. McIntyre can come along.  Having a surgeon isn’t a bad idea.”

“Come along where?”  Harper asked.

“A safe place, safe from the asteroid,” Clarke answered.  Clarke knew Harper was much like herself, she had left everything behind on the other side of the country to work off student loan debt at a VA hospital.

“What about the other patients, Clarke?”  Harper asked.

“The basement is a bomb shelter, as long as the remaining staff do their jobs right, they can save as many as they can get to the basement,” Lexa said.

Harper seemed very torn, finally she said, “We’re going to need a back board to move him off of that bed.”

“I’ll run up to Ortho and get one,” Clarke said.  “We’ll need to keep him in the bed as long as possible.  Get him ready to move.”

Harper nodded as Clarke slipped out.

“Sarge,” Murphy said.  “I heard you were captured.”

“Nah,” Lexa waved him off.  “I had a mission.  I did take care of your shooter, though.”

“I knew you’d avenge me,” he grimaced.  “Load me up with painkillers, Doc.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to need them.”  

Harper fiddled with the machine by his bed.

“Oh yeah, that’s the stuff,” Murphy grinned.

“I’m going to need you to play dead, Murphy,” Lex instructed.  “We’re going out through the morgue.”

Harper started turning off and disconnecting the various tubes and sensors connected to John Murphy.  She brought up his file in the system and recorded him dead from a thrown clot giving him an aneurysm.  By the time she was done Clarke returned with the backboard.  They rolled him on his side and slid it underneath him securing him to it on the bed.  They covered him with the sheet and rolled his bed out into the hall and into the elevator.  Down they went, barely drawing a glance as they rolled through the basement past the morgue doors and into the maintenance corridor.  Lexa dropped the tailgate and they slid John into the back on the board.  

“I need to blindfold you, Dr. McIntyre,” Lexa said flatly.

“Seriously?”  Harper said.

“Afraid so,” Lexa cut off a piece of Murphy’s blanket.  “I can’t risk my people getting hurt.  You understand?”

“Yeah,” Harper nodded.  “I guess I do.”

Lexa tied her hands then blindfolded the doctor before carefully guiding her into the back seat of the truck.

“I’m going to lay down back here with Murphy,” Clarke said.  “I need to be able to make sure he’s okay and I can text you to stop if it’s too hard on him.”

“Okay, babe,” Lexa kissed her and helped her into the bed of the truck.

****

The trip back to the mountain was mostly uneventful.  From her position in the bed of the truck, Clarke heard several gunshots.  She was pretty sure there weren’t going to be many more trips out of the mountain.  When they pulled into the cave Clarke climbed out and walked out into the trees to text Raven.

> **The Other Doctor**
> 
> Can you talk?
> 
> **The Doctor**
> 
> I’m on the move.  Give me ten.

****

Five minutes passed before Lexa joined her in the woods.

“Lincoln and Bellamy are carrying him to a room.  Harper is supervising,” Lexa kissed her temple.

“Did you hear all of the shooting?”  Clarke asked.

“I did,” Lexa held her.  

They stayed like that until Clarke’s phone rang.  It was an unknown number.

Clarke accepted the call.

“ _Griff_ ,” Raven greeted.  “ _It’s a burner so I can talk.  A lot of people were heading for Redstone, I slipped away.  I’m about three hours out, just about to twenty-six._ ”

“Oh, thank God,” Clarke clutched at Lexa’s hand.  “Things are already starting to fall apart.”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Raven said.  “ _The news just keeps getting worse._ ”

“I’m going to text you a map position,” Clarke told her.  “I’ll meet you there in two and a half hours.”

“ _I’ll see you then, Griff,_ ” Clarke could hear Raven’s smile.  

“The bait shop down at the highway,” Lexa spoke softly.

“Yeah,” Clarke agreed.  She pulled up her Map app and marked the spot then sent it to the number Rae had called from.

“Our people are going to be safe, Clarke,” Lexa wrapped her arms around the blonde.

“Thanks to you,” Clarke kissed her neck.

“I don’t think we have time for that,” Lexa chuckled.  “We need to check on Murphy and make sure Doctor McIntyre is settled.”

“God, Bellamy’s going to hit on her, so much,” Clarke chuckled.

“Poor girl,” Lexa chuckled.

****

They had settled Harper into the same room as Murphy.  Harper was impressed with the infirmary set up, and was shelving Clarke’s medical textbooks when they found her.

“So,” Harper said to Lexa.  “You’re the woman that makes Clarke smile like a lovesick teenager.”

Clarke blushed.  

“Lovesick teenager, really?”  Lexa grinned.

“I haven’t seen anyone look that dopey since my junior high boyfriend,” Harper joked.

“That’s great, this is great,” Clarke’s whole face had gone red.

“Listen, Lexa, I just want to say thanks,” Harper said.  “I didn’t have anywhere to go.  Thanks for taking me in.”

“You’re welcome, Dr. McIntyre,” Lexa said.  “Get Murphy healthy again.”

****

Lexa was still in full battle gear when they took the Outback down to the bait shop to wait for Raven.  The place was already abandoned and locked up tight.  Lexa supposed fishing was a low priority at the end of the world.  Lexa did a perimeter check before she would let Clarke get out of the car.  She wanted to take advantage of the time to teach Clarke how to shoot a handgun.

“Babe, I took an oath to ‘do no harm’,” Clarke said.

“That was before,” Lexa pushed the 9mm into her hand.  “Now you need to be able to defend yourself.”  Lexa slipped behind her and covered Clarke’s hands in her own.  “Grip like this,” Lexa demonstrated.  “Always with both hands.  Flip off the safety before you sight,” she instructed.  Clarke thumbed the safety off.  “Look down the sight, we’re going to shoot at that tree trunk,” Lexa indicated.  “Breathe, unlock your elbows, and pull the trigger.”

Clarke did as she was told and watched as the trunk splintered.  “I hit it!”

“You did,” Lexa kissed her temple.  “Very good.  I’m going to let go and let you try without help.  Remember to keep your elbows unlocked.”

Clarke followed the same steps Lexa had talked her through and fired into the trunk.  She took two more shots before a car appeared on the highway.  Lexa pulled another sidearm and thumbed off the safety.

“I’m sure it’s just Rae,” Clarke said.

“Better safe than sorry,” Lexa watched the car carefully.  There were four people in it.  Lexa was only expecting one so she raised the nine to take aim as the car pulled into the parking lot.  

A Latina woman opened the passenger door and got out.  “Clarke, ask your bodyguard to please not shoot me.”

“Lex, it’s Raven,” Clarke told the Ranger.

“That’s fine, who are the other three?”  Lexa nodded toward the car.  “We were only expecting one.”

“Well, she’s got me there, Rae,” Clarke said.

“It’s okay, they’re friends.  Guys get out so Clarke’s super soldier doesn’t kill us,” Raven said into the car.

The guy in the passenger side back seat climbed out.  “Holy shit, Monty Green!”  Clarke cried happily.

“Hey Clarke, Raven picked us up on her way passed Savannah,” Monty smiled and waved a hand back to the guy climbing out of the drivers side rear.  “You remember my college roommate Jasper Jordan.”

Jasper held his hands up and tried not to piss himself.

“This is Finn Collins,” Raven indicated the floppy haired guy who had been in the driver’s seat.  “My boyfriend.”

Lexa met Clarke’s eyes before lowering her sidearm.  “Monty is a computer guy, he can help with figuring out the system.”  Clarke walked over to give her old friends a hug,

“Jasper is in horticulture, he can get just about anything to grow,” Monty said as Jasper came around.

“That’s good to know,” Lexa said.  “How are you with hydroponics?”

“I love hydroponics, best methods if you ask me,” Jasper grins.

Lexa shook his hand.  “What about that one?”  She indicated Raven’s boyfriend.

“I’m a welder,” Finn smiled.  “I do some metal sculpture, too.”  Finn had walked around the door to shake hands with Clarke.  He held Clarke’s hand a little longer than either Clarke or Lexa were comfortable with.

Lexa insisted that Finn, Jasper, and Monty be blindfolded before Lexa would lead them to the bunker.  The sun was going down before they got back in their cars, which Lexa considered a tactical advantage.  

They pulled both cars into the cavern.  Lincoln, Bell, Octavia, and Anya had finished the permanent pens and moved the livestock into the second cavern.  Lexa dropped and secured the rolling door.

“You got a whole parking garage thing going in here,” Raven joked.  Anya's truck and Octavia's SUV were already parked.  The livestock trailer had been pushed off to the side.

“RAE!”  Octavia shouted coming through the tunnel.

“O!” Raven called back meeting her in the middle for a hug.

“I’m glad you made it,” Octavia said.

“I wouldn’t spend the end of the world with anyone else,” Raven told her.  “Hey, you finally get to meet Finn!”

“Oh my god, what did you think of Clarke’s girlfriend?!”  Octavia asked excitedly.

“We’re standing literally four feet away,” Clarke groaned.

“Scary, but hot,” Raven laughed.

“Anya is like ten times scarier,” Octavia told her.

“Notice how I’m still hotter,” Lexa smirked.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Don’t Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult


	7. Gimme Shelter

****May 19, 2017** **

By the time everyone was moved into the bunker, the decision was made to just call it a night.  Monty and Jasper moved into the third four bunk room, Raven and Finn took the last king bed room.

With the morning came another of Linc’s breakfasts, Octavia helped him cook for all of them.  After breakfast Lexa took Jasper and Monty down to see the hydroponic farm.  When she unsealed the door Jasper laughed with glee.

“This is beautiful!  It’s perfect, just look at it,” he started jogging down the rows making note of what was growing where.  “We’re going to need some calcium to help these tomatoes along,” he muttered a list of other things while examining every inch of the room.  “Bumblebees!  Whoever set this up really did their research.  It just needs a few tweaks based on my experience with hydroponics.”

“Make a list, I’ll see what I can do,” Lexa said.

Monty had been roaming the aisles making note of how it was all on a computer program to keep the system running with minimal effort.  “Get some rolling papers for this sticky,” he smiled when he found the marijuana plants.

“Pretty sure that’s medicinal,” Lexa told him.

“I’ve got anxiety,” he chuckled.

“Lexa, this is just fantastic,” Jasper said passing her to examine something else.

“I think we can leave him down here to geek out over plants,” Monty told Lexa.

“We may have to come get him later, this room is restricted access,” she told him.

“I’ll be fine,” Jasper called from behind a row of strawberry plants.

“You heard the man,” Monty said.

Lexa led the way up and to the monitoring room.  They passed Raven, Anya, Finn, and Bellamy in the living area watching the news.  Lincoln and Octavia were in the kitchen finishing the clean up and planning the rest of the day's meals.  She led him down the corridor to the monitoring room, she could see the infirmary door open and hear furniture being moved around.  

When she opened the door for Monty his jaw dropped.  “Holy shit, it’s the Watchtower up in here.”

“Pardon?” Lexa looked confused.

“The Justice League monitors the Earth from a space station called the Watchtower,” Monty explained.  “Look,” he sat down at the keyboard and wasn’t surprised to find he needed access.  “I need you to sign me in.”

Lexa signed into the system and watched as Monty typed and clicked around.  Suddenly, the walls, or what Lexa had taken for walls, lit up with views around the exterior of the mountain.  “Wow!”  She dropped to into one of the rolling chairs and spun around to take in the view.

“I know,” Monty giggled.  “Check this out.”  The area above the bank of computer screens she was used to thinking was a wall changed from the exterior view to views of every common area in the bunker.  “There are Clarke and Harper working in the infirmary,” he commented.  “Lincoln and Octavia making out in the pantry,” he clicked around.  “Watch this,” he leaned forward slightly.  “Making out on the food is strictly prohibited,” he spoke very officially while Lincoln and Octavia jerked apart in the pantry, looking around.  Monty clicked off the microphone and giggled maniacally.

“That’s awesome,” Lexa giggled at Lincoln and Octavia still looking around for the source of the voice.  “Are -- Are there cameras in the bedrooms?”  She asked nervously.

Monty typed and clicked until he got a warning message.  “There are, but they require your biological authorization.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way,” Lexa breathed in relief.  “Are there cameras in every section of the bunker?”

“It looks that way,” Monty said.  He brought up the greenhouse and leaned forward, “Hey Jas,” he said.

“ _What’s up, Monty?_ ” Jasper's voice came through a speaker overhead somewhere while they could see him wearing goggles and spraying a section of plants with some unknown fluid.

“Go over to the panel by the door and put your thumb on it,” Monty instructed.

“ _Can I use my middle finger instead?_ ”  Jasper giggled doing as instructed.

“Sure,” Monty said.  “Hold still.”  He typed and got a confirmation on the screen.  “Okay, you can come and go from that door.”  Monty clicked off the microphone.

“ _Sweet,_ ” Jasper said and went back to his plants.

“I assume you want to keep access to our aquifer strictly limited,” Monty looked at Lexa.

“How do you know it’s there?”  Lexa asked.

Monty clicked and typed and pulled up the schematics for the whole bunker.

“I spent a week searching for the hard copies and they were in there the whole time?” Lexa sighed.

“Yep,” Monty nodded.  “Everything’s in here.  Including some highly illegal hacks into some government agencies.”

“Seriously?”  Lexa rolled her chair over to look at the screen Monty was working from.

“Most of it seems to be code intended to keep this bunker from ever appearing in any government system,” Monty told her.  “He’s been tapped in to NASA’s satellites, though.”  He seemed to weigh his options then rolled the chair back out through the door.  “RAVEN,” he shouted and rolled back to his position at the screen.  “I want to save the intercom for later when I can mess with her,” he grinned.

Lexa chuckled as Raven appeared in the doorway.  “Holy shit,” she said looking at the various views on the walls.

“I know, right,” Monty said.  “Have a look at this though.”  Monty tapped the keys and brought up a view of space.

“Which satellite is that?”  Raven moved forward and looked at the computer.  “We shouldn’t have access to that satellite here.”

“The guy who set it up has a backdoor hack into all of NASA’s systems,” Monty told her.  

She rolled him out of the way and took over the keyboard.  The view changed and there was the asteroid.

Monty shoved her back out of the way and typed until Anya yelled from the living area.  “What the hell, I was watching that?”  Monty chuckled, Raven ducked out to see the satellite image on the television.

When she came back her voice was serious, “Can you get a direct link to the satellites?”

“Working off these codes, probably,” Monty shrugged.  “Why?”

“So when the computer systems go down, we can still see what’s happening out there,” Raven explained.  “We should probably get everyone together so I can explain what’s going to happen when that thing hits.”  Raven was staring up at the asteroid on the screen.  It seemed to just be lazily spinning along through space.

“Probably a good idea, let's get everyone to the mess hall,” Lexa agreed.

“Okay, but when that’s done, we need to talk about these power systems,” Monty told Raven.  Monty clicked a button and leaned forward.  “This is the Watchtower, Base Commander would like everyone to meet in the mess hall.”

“Base Commander?” Lexa raised an eyebrow.

“It’s your bunker, Commander,” Monty grinned.

Clarke stepped in to the Watchtower and hugged Lexa from behind, “The Watchtower, Monty, really?”

“I gotta keep comics alive in the apocalypse,” Monty smiled.

Clarke was looking around at all of the screens,”I didn’t know the walls did this.”

“Neither did I,” Lexa leaned into the blonde.

****

Harper directed everyone up to the front of the mess hall nearest the room she shared with Murphy so he would be able to hear without being moved from his bed.  Raven had already hooked up the cable for him.  Lexa had given him an e-reader with thousands of books already loaded onto it.  Murphy may have been under better care in the bunker than he had been in the hospital.

“We got everybody?”  Raven looked around.  “John, can you hear me okay?”

“Loud and clear,” he called from his bed.

“Okay, we need to talk about what’s going to happen when that hunk of rock hits us,” Raven began.  “I should preface this by saying they rushed me to design and build a missile without all of the proper information so it’s unlikely to do anything more than turn it into two giant hunks of space rock instead of one.”

“How were we not prepared for this?”  Bellamy asked her.

“Well, define prepared.  We were prepared to deal with smaller, less dense rocks,” Raven explained.  “We were even prepared to deal with a comet.  But the comet protocols involved using it’s own trajectory and velocity against it.  This hunk of rock is solid, like granite solid, and it doesn’t have an orbit.  It was bumped out of the Kupier Belt by a comet, ironically, so it has comet velocity, but not comet orbit.”

“So, you’re saying there really wasn’t anything to be done?”  Harper asked.

“We could have done something with more time,” Raven said.  “We just didn’t have the time.  They’re going to fire my missile in a few days, to try to lessen the damage as much as possible.”

Raven took a deep breath and started to pace in front of the assembled bunker residents.  “When it hits, everything within 300 miles is going to be a molten crater, it’s going to knock thousands of tons of debris into the air, chances are that debris will travel several hundred miles out from the impact point.  The impact will cause massive earthquakes and tidal waves,” Raven paused to let that sink in.  “There will also be an air blast that will be powerful enough to knock down buildings for hundreds of miles from the impact site,” Raven paused again and paced the floor.  “Finally, the thermal radiation blast will literally set the entire surface of the Earth on fire.  The whole planet will burn.  The damage from that depends entirely on the type of flammable material to keep the flames burning and how wet the area already was.  The Amazon rainforest, for example, is likely to come out of it mildly scorched, but able to recover after the impact winter.”

“Impact winter?”  Lincoln asked.

“You’ve heard of nuclear winter, it’s like that but without the lingering radiation,” Raven explained.  “The debris will block out the light of the sun.  We don’t know how long it will last.  The only record of something like this we have is the asteroid that hit Mexico and killed the dinosaurs.  We know it was actually the impact winter that killed off most of the species, but we don’t know if it lasted months or decades.”

“So, what you’re telling us,” Bellamy said.  “Is that even if we survive the initial impact, where still fucked because of nuclear winter.”

“Impact winter,” Raven corrected.  “But, yeah.”

Lexa stood up and stepped next to Raven, “Before you panic, this bunker is stocked with a decade worth of food.  We can survive in here very comfortably for as long as we need to.  We bought the livestock to try to make sure we can extend our survival beyond the originally planned ten years.  There is a greenhouse full of fruits and vegetables growing below us, we have plenty of water, our air is filtered from outside.”

“The takeaway here, I think,” Anya said.  “Is that if you think you might ever need a thing, we need to get it into this bunker before everything out there burns.”

Raven nodded.

“Rae,” Clarke finally said.  Raven looked at her.  “Where’s it going to hit?”

Raven looked away and fidgeted.

“Don’t act like you don’t know, you told me you ran thousands of simulations,” Clarke pushed.

“In most of my simulations it breaks into two pieces, one hits Pennsylvania, the other hits the Florida panhandle,” Raven sighed.

“So, we’re most likely going to not melt into magma here,” Octavia piped up.  “That’s surprisingly comforting.”

“My simulations aren’t a hundred percent, O,” Raven sighed.  

“Look, I get that you need to be all science-y because that’s who you are,” Octavia said.  “But I need some hope to hold on to.”

Lexa was still with Raven discussing something quietly when Clarke felt someone move next to her.  “You doing okay?”  Finn asked.  “You look a little shell shocked.”

“I’m as good as someone can be in this situation,” Clarke assured him.  “I just have a lot of things to think through.”

“This probably isn’t how you thought you were going to end up,” Finn said.

“Nothing is ever guaranteed,” Clarke replied.

“Clarke,” Lexa called her attention.  “A word.”

“Excuse me,” Clarke stood and moved over to Raven and Lexa.  “What’s up, babe?”

“Raven thinks we should get some oxygen tanks,” Lexa explained.

“For lung disorders from the smoke and debris, yeah,” Clarke nodded.  “I was thinking that.”

“We probably need to take two groups out, Jasper gave me a long list of things he needs for the greenhouse,” Lexa told Clarke and Raven.

“I need tools, I didn’t have time to pack any,” Raven admitted.  “Finn could probably use a welding machine and plasma cutter.  I don’t doubt that we’ll need to make repairs after the quakes.”

“Yeah,” Clarke agreed.

“Okay, everyone,” Lexa said loudly to quell the chatter.  “I need a list of the things you think we’ll need.  We’re going to make a supply run.”

Lexa moved to talk to Lincoln, Raven and Monty went back to the Watchtower.  Clarke stepped in to check on Murphy.

“How ya doin’, Murph?” Clarke tried to sound upbeat.

“I’m going to survive the apocalypse,” Murphy said.  “I’d say I’m doing better than most people.”

“How’s your pain?” She asked pulling up a chair that had found it’s way out of the mess hall and to his bedside.

“About a six or seven,” he told her.  “I wouldn’t let Dr. Mac give me anything for the pain today.”

“Six or seven is an improvement,” Clarke nodded.  “Don’t be all gung ho, though.  If you are in pain, it’s okay to take medication.”

“I don’t want to burn through all of our pain meds before the fires are even out, Griff,” Murphy said honestly.  “I can deal.”

“Let Harper or I know if it gets to be too much, okay,” Clarke urged.

“I will,” Murphy promised.

“So, you knew Lexa,” Clarke hinted.

“Knew is a strong word,” Murphy began.  “I drove a truck.  Sometimes I drove her team to rendezvous points.  Once I picked them up after a mission.  Sergeant Woods liked to ride in the front.  She needed to be able to see what’s coming.”

“She still does,” Clarke grinned.  She noticed a pack of cards on the mattress near Murphy’s hand.  “Solitaire or Poker?”

“Both,” he said.  “I’m willing to play Spades or Hearts if you can find two more.”

“I’m pretty good at Hearts,” Clarke warned.

“I’ll play,” Finn said from the doorway.  Clarke got the idea that maybe he had been listening in at the door.   _Maybe he’s just lonely since Raven is busy getting the bunker ready for impact._

“Harper!” Clarke shouted, knowing the surgeon was still nearby.

“Yeah,” she stuck her head in the doorway and saw Murphy with the deck in his hands.  “You already have all of my cash, John.”

“We’re gonna play Hearts, you want in?”  Clarke said.

“Hearts?”  Harper dragged another chair in.

“It’s a lot like Spades,” Murphy told her.  “I won’t even make you pay up when you lose.”

“Money’s kind of pointless anyway,” Finn added.

****

Raven and Monty were looking at the power system from the Watchtower.  “You’re right, those turbines are redundant,” the rocket scientist agreed.  “We should pull them down to prevent the air blasts damaging them.  Where’s Commander Heart-Eyes?”

Monty cycled through the cameras until he found her with Anya and Lincoln out in the cavern.  Monty flipped on the mic, “Base Commander, you’re needed in the Watchtower.”

“You like that a little too much,” Raven said after he flipped off the mic.  They could see Lexa and Anya making their way back inside on the screens.  They looked at the turbine schematics while they waited.

“What do you need, Monty?” Lexa stepped into the room.

“We need to take the wind turbines down until after impact,” Raven announced.

“Why?” Anya asked coming in behind the Ranger.

“What did I say about the air blasts?”  Raven said.

Anya grunted and nodded.  “Do we need them?”

“Right now, they are redundant,” Monty told her.  “We’ll be more likely to need them after impact as the solar panels are likely to be damaged.”

“We have spare solar panels,” Lexa told them.

“We’ll probably need them later,” Raven said.  “With the weather extremes, the turbines might break down sooner than intended.”

“I see,” Lexa nodded.  “We should go see what we need to get them down.”

“I’ll go with her,” Anya offered.  “You need to go on the supply run.  Take your girl.”

Lexa nodded and looked at the screens.  She didn’t see Clarke in any of the public areas, so she was in a barracks room.  Lexa headed in that direction, hearing Clarke and Murphy laughing halfway across the mess hall.

“I see Murphy found someone who still had money to lose,” she smiled in his doorway.

“You’re just mad that you still owe me thirty thousand dinar from that poker game in Fallujah,” Murphy smirked.

“I think we’re even,” Lexa waved a hand at their surroundings.

“Fair enough,” he agreed.

“Thirty thousand dinar?”  Finn asked incredulous.

“Don’t get excited,”  Murphy told him.  “It’s twenty-five dollars.”

“Clarke, I’m going out if you would like to join me,” the Ranger offered.

“Ooh, yeah, I want to get one last hot fudge sundae,” Clarke jumped from her chair between Finn and Harper.

“See if you can get a few more cases of rubbing alcohol,” Harper said putting her cards down.

“Yep,” Clarke strolled out after Lexa.

Murphy quirked his eyebrow at the way Finn’s eyes followed Clarke.

****

They found Anya, Raven, Linc, Octavia, and Bellamy in the cavern.  

“Swap keys with me, Lex,” Anya called.  “I’m going up, you’re going down.”  Lexa tossed Anya the Outback keys and Anya tossed back the F-350 keys.  Linc was climbing into the driver’s seat of Octavia’s SUV.  Octavia was in the passenger seat and Bellamy was in the back.  They had already divided up the list of things to find.  Clarke and Lexa headed for a large hardware and tool store in town then a medical supply warehouse.

The city of Asheville had turned into the wild west over the course of two days.  If a city as small and laid back as Asheville was this bad, Clarke shuddered to think how terrifying her hometown of New York City or Lexa’s hometown of Washington D.C. had gotten.  Parts of both cities were scary _before_ the apocalypse.  Windows had been broken, buildings were already on fire, trash, debris, and cast off loot littered the ground.  The people it seemed, had already begun to scatter.

“Where do you think they went?”  Clarke asked.

“Fled out west, most likely,” Lexa said.  “Lower population, fewer people to fight for resources.  I’m sure plenty headed for Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base seeking sanctuary.”  

They arrived at their first destination and found it still locked up tight and unraided.  Lexa surveyed the building.  “Remind me to get a crowbar.”  

Clarke nodded and picked up a large rock, throwing it through the plate glass window.  With one of Lexa’s 9MM’s tucked in the back of her waistband she knocked loose glass out of the way and climbed over the short wall, unlocking the door before heading into the shop.  She located the tools and tool boxes and selected several easy to carry steel tool boxes to fill with as many varied tools as she could fit into them.  Loading them one at a time into the bed of Anya’s truck.  Lexa located a welding machine, plasma cutter, and the assorted safety equipment.  She located several oxygen tanks and loaded them onto a hand truck to load them into the back of the truck.  They finished loading up, their list from this location completed and climbed back into the truck.

“Did you get a crowbar?”  Clarke asked.

“Dammit,” Lexa climbed out of the truck and returned a few moments later with four crowbars.

They headed to their next destination, a medical equipment supplier.  The door was unlocked.  Lexa followed Clarke into the back where she pointed out the things she wanted to take.  There was a crash further back in the warehouse.  Clarke and Lexa exchanged a look and drew their handguns.  Lexa signaled for Clarke to stay low and close.  Lexa followed the sound of frightened breathing.  She tracked the source and signaled Clarke to stay back, she pulled her second pistol and swung around the corner, surprising the man she found cowering there.

“Please don’t shoot,” he begged.  “I’m unarmed, I work here.”

Lexa holstered one of the nines.  “Didn’t anybody tell you it’s the apocalypse?”

“I kind of thought I’d be safer here, we’ve got a bomb shelter,” he told her.  He was about her age, medium dark skin and warm brown eyes.  

“You got a name, medical supply guy?”  Lexa asked as Clarke appeared around the corner of the shelf.  Lexa gave her a look.

“What?  He’s obviously not dangerous,” the blonde shrugged.   _At least she still has her weapon out_ , Lexa reasoned.

“Nathan, Nathan Miller,” the man said.

“How well is your bomb shelter stocked, Nathan Miller?”  Lexa asked.

“Not at all,” he shrugged.  “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“Probably not today,” Lexa told him.

“I need a wheelchair,” Clarke said to Miller.  “Where do you keep them?”

Miller indicated the area behind him and Clarke pushed past him to grab a basic folding model and drag it to the truck.

“It’s the apocalypse and I’m being robbed of wheelchairs at gunpoint,” Miller muttered.

“I’ll be happy to pay, but I’m pretty sure the world economies have already collapsed,” Lexa shrugged.

“You’ve obviously got someplace safe, you could take me with you,” Miller bargained.

“Nothing personal, but I don’t know you and checking references isn’t very reliable under these circumstances,” Lexa replied.

“You got any oxygen tanks?”  Clarke appeared again.

Miller stood there staring at Lexa.

“Did I miss something?”  Clarke asked.

“Mr. Miller wants to join our battalion,” Lexa said flatly.

Clarke studied the man.  “What can you do?”

“Tell you where the oxygen tanks are,” he smirked.

“Not really helpful,” Clarke walked off in search of the oxygen tanks.

“If you can’t impress her, how can you hope to impress me,” Lexa smirked.  “Look, I’m not going to shoot you unless you make me, so I’m going to go help her.  Carry on with your apocalypse planning.”

Lexa walked away and helped Clarke load up the things she needed.  Once they were done Lexa closed the tailgate.

“Are we really just going to leave him here to die?” Clarke asked.  Miller was standing in the doorway watching them.  “He’s like a puppy, Lex.”

Without warning, gunshots rang out near them.  Lexa pushed Clarke to the ground and drew her sidearm.  The rifles were in the cab of the truck.  “Get down,” she shouted at Miller just standing there stunned.  Miller did as ordered and dropped to his belly on the ground.

Lexa looked around for the source of the gunshots, spotting a trio of men behind a low wall across the street.  Lexa slipped around to the side of the truck and pulled open the driver’s side door, using it at a shield to grab her rifle.

She checked the clip and thumbed off the safety, taking aim at the three men still firing indiscriminately at them.  She fired once and watched one of the men drop with a bullet between his eyebrows.

“LEXA,” Clarke shouted, firing her handgun.  Lexa shifted her attention to the back of the truck seeing two men ducking Clarke’s shots and trying to get to her.  She flicked her eyes back to the two left on the wall and picked them off quickly, she couldn’t afford to be surprised from a flank again, before rushing to Clarke.  As she turned she saw Miller fling himself on one of the attackers.  Lexa aimed the rifle and put a bullet in the other attackers skull.  She lowered the rifle and ran to Clarke’s side.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Clarke was saying holding onto her shoulder.

“Let me see,” Lexa insisted.  

“It’s a bruise,” Clarke explained.  “I think he meant to knock me over the head with his gun, but I moved and he hit my shoulder.”

Miller was still wrestling with the final attacker.  Lexa could see blood spreading around them, she was unsure who it was coming from.  “Miller, LEFT,” Lexa shouted.  Miller pushed off to the left away from the shooter and Lexa put a bullet in his head.

Miller collapsed onto his back, holding his side.  Lexa could see the blood around the area he struggled to keep pressure on.  Clarke rushed to him, he had been shot in the side.  “Patch him up in the truck, we need to go,” Lexa told her.

Clarke did her best to stop the bleeding in the truck.  Lexa drove around town in circles for a little while to make sure no one was following them before heading out of town.

  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is as good a place as any to share this terrifying little tool which, in part, inspired this story. http://www.purdue.edu/impactearth/
> 
> This one got away from me a bit, sometimes characters just wander off and do their own thing despite the plan. Miller wasn't supposed to show up until after impact, I guess he's decided he needs to be there earlier for something. It wasn't a great place to break but otherwise it would be a super long chapter, then you would all get spoiled and expect all of the chapters to be super long . . .


	8. Bohemian Rhapsody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I don't respond to comments like I should. In some cases it's to avoid spoilers. More often than not it's to avoid stressing myself out. Mostly, I don't know what to say and repeating 'thank you' over and over feels false. So here is one over-arching Thank You to everyone who reads and comments. I'm reading them, sometimes I'm giggling to myself because of the things I have planned.

Monty was in the Watchtower when his phone popped an email notification.  He read it and opened the mic, “Prep the infirmary, Clarke and Lexa are inbound with wounded.”  Monty saw Harper dash across the mess hall in route to the infirmary.  Finn went to follow her and instead changed his mind and headed to the caves.  The doors wouldn’t unseal for him so Monty opened his path as he went.  A few minutes later Jasper joined him in the cave.

Lexa pulled the big truck in and Clarke was opening the door to hop out before the Ranger had it in park.  The doctor pulled open the back door to help Miller out and felt someone grab her from behind.

“Clarke, are you okay?”  Clarke didn’t really register Finn’s voice, she just elbowed him in the gut, hard.  She had all of the sneaking up on she was going to deal with today.

“Miller, give me your arm,” Clarke instructed as Lexa came around to assist in getting Clarke’s savior into the infirmary.

“What can I do?”  Finn asked trailing along behind them as Monty unsealed doors in their path.  

“Clean up the blood,” Lexa barked, already beyond tired of the needy man.

****

Once Miller was on the table, Lexa left the infirmary, letting the doctors work.  She stepped into the Watchtower, which now had a sign on the door designating it as such.

“Anything important happen?”  She asked him plopping down in the other chair as the adrenaline rush left her system.

“Raven and Anya came back for tools and then went back up the mountain, they’re taking the turbines down,” Monty switched the camera view to the engineer and trainer working.  “They found flame retardant blankets in the storage room, I think the idea is to lay them down and cover them until the fires go out.”

“How many hours will the batteries keep the bunker going without recharging?”  Lexa asked.

“Seven to ten days, give or take,” Monty told her.  “Depends on how much power we consume.”

Lexa nodded.  She watched Raven and Anya work on the built in wall monitors and didn’t realize she had drifted off to sleep from the adrenaline crash until Clarke kissed her forehead.

“Hey, super soldier,” Clarke smiled.  Lexa smiled back at her.  Monty pretended to be very busy with something on his computer.  

“What’s up, Doc?”  Lexa pulled Clarke into her lap.

“Ha ha,” like she hadn’t heard that one a thousand times.  It felt different with the affection in Lexa’s voice, though.  “He’s going to be fine, the bullet missed his organs.  We pulled it out and stitched him up.”

“How are you?”  Lexa asked with love and concern in her eyes.

“I’m about to go through the adrenaline crash you just slept off,” Clarke grinned.  “Want to carry me to bed?”

Lexa secured Clarke and stood, carrying her bridal style through the bunker.  Clarke started laughing as Lexa left light tickling kisses on her cheek and neck.  “Lex, stop,” she cried out, pushing Lexa’s smiling face away from her neck on their way across the living area where Finn was watching television.

Once safely ensconced in their bedroom Lexa laid her in their bed and curled protectively around her.

“I’m fine, Lex,” Clarke said softly.

“I know,” Lexa kissed her cheek.  “We need to work on your aim,” more light kisses.  “Sleep, love.”

Clarke drifted off in Lexa’s arms.

****

Clarke woke up alone.  She found her phone on the bedside table, charging.   _My sweet badass_ , she thought checking the time.  She had been out for about an hour and she had missed dinner.  Was it really the same day?  She decided on a quick shower to wash away the day’s excitement.  She felt better after a few minutes in the steam.  Dried and dressed she went back into their room to find Lexa with a tray of food.

“Hi,” she said when she saw Clarke coming in still toweling off her hair.

“Hi,” Clarke smiled and met Lexa in the middle of the room for a kiss.

“Feeling better,” Lexa guided her over to the loveseat and sat the tray in her lap.

Clarke hummed her assent and took a bite of roast chicken.  “Thank you for bringing this.”

“Anything for you, my love,” Lexa smiled.  “Miller is doing fine.  He’s been watching television with Monty and Jasper.”

“Good,” Clarke inhaled her dinner, suddenly aware that she was ravenous.  “What’s going on with the turbines?”

“Raven and Anya got two out of four down before they decided to call it a day,” Lexa told her.  “They’ll get the other two down tomorrow.”

“And the supply runs?”  Clarke continued to scarf down the meal.

“Are you even stopping to taste that?”  Lexa teased.

“I tasted the first bite, now I just want it in my belly,” Clarke grinned.

“Linc and the Blakes found all of the chemicals Jasper asked for and brought back a whole display worth of seeds,” Lexa told her.  “They had a good haul.  He wants to take the truck tomorrow to see if Jasper can transplant some more fruit trees.”

“Fruit would be nice,” Clarke pushed the empty plate away.  “Did you eat?”

“I did,” Lexa nodded.  “How do you feel about just cuddling up and watching a movie?”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Clarke curled into Lexa on the loveseat.

Lexa pulled up Netflix on the television, “I’m really going to miss Netflix.  I’ve been downloading everything I can think of from iTunes and Amazon.”

“Maybe tomorrow, we can go load up on Blu Rays,” Clarke said.

“We were attacked today and you want to go back out for movies?”  Lexa kissed Clarke’s temple.

“And popcorn,” Clarke added.  “Can we get a movie theater style popcorn maker?”

Lexa chuckled.  “I love you.”

Clarke hummed and snuggled into the Ranger.  “I love you, too.”

****

Not long into the movie they had gotten bored with it and started paying more attention to each other which lead to them naked and panting on the loveseat.  Clarke woke sometime later naked flesh stuck to naked flesh and crammed onto the loveseat.  Clarke literally peeled herself off of Lexa and went to the bathroom.  Distracted by thoughts of waking Lexa for round two on the bed, Clarke didn’t hear the sounds that indicated someone was in the bathroom, she didn’t notice that the connecting door to Linc’s room was open.  Half asleep after mind-blowing sex while thinking about more mind-blowing sex tends to make one oblivious.  So imagine the shock when she opened the door and saw a naked Octavia bent forward over the sink with a naked Lincoln taking her from behind.

Clarke shrieked in surprise.  Octavia shrieked because Clarke shrieked.  Lincoln shrieked when he realized Clarke was naked.  It was awkward enough when naked battle ready Lexa charged into the connecting hallway.

“Oh my God!”  Lexa bellowed and proceeded to howl with laughter after taking in Lincoln’s terrified face as he tried to look like he wasn’t just fucking Octavia in their shared bathroom.  Lexa pulled a stunned Clarke back into their bedroom and shut the door, still laughing.

“Lex, I still have to pee,” Clarke whined.

Someone pounded on their door, “Hey, is everything okay in there?”  It was Finn’s voice.

“Everything’s fine,” Lexa yelled back.

Clarke pulled open the connecting hall door and whisper shouted, “Get out of the bathroom, I have to pee!”

“Consider this payback for sophomore year of college,” Octavia called back.

“I never kept you from the bathroom!”  Clarke called back resentfully.

Lexa was still chuckling when Clarke made it back to bed.  

“Stop it, there was nothing funny about any of that,” Clarke pouted.  “Why aren’t you embarrassed at all?”

“I was in the Army, Clarke,” Lexa said.  “Communal showers are a thing.  Nudity kind of stops being a thing when you routinely shower with half a dozen other women.  For the record, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“ _You_ have nothing to be embarrassed about, all lean muscle and abs,” Clarke said.  “I’m squishy.  First it was the freshman fifteen, then it was the med school squish.”

Lexa rolled Clarke on her back and pinned her to the bed.  “You are perfect,” Lexa kissed her way down the doctor’s neck.  “Soft,” Lexa caressed her girlfriend’s sides.  “Feminine,” Lexa stroked her hands along Clarke’s hips.  “Beautiful,” Lexa kissed her way down the blonde’s stomach.  Lexa looked up and met blue eyes, “I love your curves.”  She slid down between Clarke’s thighs, slipping her shoulders under creamy thighs.  “I love everything about you,” Lexa whispered reverently before sliding her tongue through Clarke’s wet slit.  “I want to worship you every day,” she breathed before gently sucking on the doctor’s clit.

Lexa gently worshiped Clarke until she cried out her pleasure … three times.

Clarke was nearly asleep when Octavia’s voice came through the connecting door, “I swear to God, Lexa, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were killing her in there!”

Clarke laughed so hard she snorted.

****

******May 20, 2017** ** **

Clarke and Lexa were up and out before the sun.  They drove up the mountain first to watch the sunrise, once the purples and pinks chased the last of the stars from view they headed down the mountain and back into town.  After the day before, they had loaded the car with Clarke’s medical bag, Lexa’s battle gear, and a shotgun for Clarke.  You don’t have to be accurate with a shotgun, just close enough for the spray to do it's job.

Before getting out of the car, Lexa strapped on her Kevlar vest and helmet.  Part of today’s list was to get at least a vest for Clarke.  She chuckled when she thought of Clarke with a turtle head.

“What’s funny?”  Clarke’s eyes shined at the sound of Lexa’s little laugh.

“I was imagining you in a Kevlar helmet, bobbing your turtle head along with the music,” Lexa grinned.

They were parked down the street from an Army Surplus store.  Lexa was very concerned that the owners may still be in the building and loaded for bear.  She was familiar with the “one tour and think they’re Rambo” types that tended to run these kinds of establishments, Lexa could take down John Rambo, but paranoid guys with access to Claymore’s scared her.

“I want you to move into the driver’s seat as soon as I get out,” Lexa said.  “If there is a nut in there with mines and bombs, I’m going to need to leave quick.”  Lexa paused to organize her thoughts.  “If it goes bad in there, leave and don’t look back.  I’ve already had Monty key you as a system administrator.”

“Lex,” Clarke started.

“No, Clarke this is serious and I need you to listen and follow orders,” Lexa held her hand.  “These kinds of people tend to be shoot first ask questions later types and if they are, I want you safe.  I love you, Clarke.  I’ve never been happier than I have been with you.”

“You don’t think you’re being dramatic,” Clarke deadpanned.

“Maybe a little,” Lexa admitted.  “I’ve never been afraid to die before.”

“Then don’t die,” Clarke ordered.

“It’s that simple, huh,” Lexa teased.

“Absolutely,” Clarke nodded.  “Be careful, don’t die.  I love you, too, I need you to hang out with me during the apocalypse.”

“Your friends aren’t good enough?”  Lexa asked checking her helmet’s strap.

“They’re alright,” Clarke grinned.  “I’d rather be with you.”

Lexa leaned forward and kissed her, it was awkward as she was trying to keep from head-butting Clarke with her helmet.  “I love you, I’ll see you soon.”

Lexa slipped out of the car and melted into the trees around the store.  Clarke slid across the center console into the driver’s seat.  It wasn’t easy, but Clarke stayed in the driver’s seat of the parked car and waited.  

Clarke knew Lexa was in those trees and couldn’t see her.  She couldn’t even see shadows moving.  Clarke was considered sharp eyed and Lexa was evading her.  Several minutes passed, the only thing Clarke saw moving was a raccoon on the opposite side of the road.  It was going on about it’s raccoon business.  Clarke wondered what would happen to the forest animals.  The second that it dawned on her, Clarke nearly vomited.  Raven had told her it was an extinction level event and at the time, Clarke had only thought about the people.

Clarke was in the middle of working out how to convince Lexa to go along with a half-baked Noah’s Ark plan when Lexa ran out into the street covered in blood.

****

\------

Raven and Anya had gone up to the top of the mountain a little after sunrise.  Raven loaded up three of the toolboxes Clarke had filled.  Raven had been pleasantly surprised to find that these turbines had been custom built.  They weren’t as large or heavy as the commercial models, but were considerably larger and better built than most home and farm models.  They weren’t necessarily easy to take down, but Lexa’s uncle had obviously installed them himself.  The engineer was pretty impressed.  She planned to examine one to learn everything about it’s inner workings.

The turbines were on a section of the mountain that was covered in rock and bare of grass and trees.  The solar panels were on a similar patch of mountain a few hundred yards away.  Raven was pretty sure this was by design to avoid damage from forest fires.  When Rae had examined the solar panels, she found the undersides and surrounding rocks coated with thermal shielding.  She still had concerns about damage to the panels from the thermal radiation fires, there was no way to protect the tops of the panels and have them still collect solar energy, but thought at least some of them might survive the burning.

The third tower was down and Anya had wandered off to pee behind a tree.  She had been gone long enough that had Raven been doing anything but examining the workings of the turbine, she might have been worried.

“Hey, Genius,” Anya shouted from the treeline.

“Yes, Punchy,” Raven called back.

“Come see what I found,” Anya waved her over.  “Bring the water bottles.”

After a short hike, Anya pointed at a rocky outcrop.

“It’s rocks, Punchy,” Raven shrugged.

“I’m not sure you’re as smart as you say you are,” Anya smirked.  “Look closer.”

Raven walked up to the rocks and when she was right on top of them, a shadow in the stones appeared.  “There’s a cave here,” Raven marveled.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Anya threw up her hands.  “Look inside.”

Raven had to slip in at an odd angle, but inside she discovered the parts for four more turbines.  “That fucker thought he was Batman,” Anya shouted in at her.

“More Lucius Fox than Batman,” Raven called back.  “We need to figure out how to seal this cave off from the wind and fires and then load the other turbines into here.”  Raven poked her head out.  “Message Monty to see if he can see us on his network of cameras.”

****

\------

Lexa slipped out of the car and melted into the trees.  She had spent hundreds, possibly thousands of hours among the trees.  Lexa liked trees, she liked the rustle of the leaves, she liked the smell of the forest floor, she liked the texture of the bark under her fingers.  On more than one occasion she had slept strapped to a tree branch.  Lexa was probably more at home in the trees than anywhere else, until she met Clarke.  

The Ranger sidled up to the back wall of the low slung brick building.  Lexa was reminded of Army post architecture, all function, zero curb appeal.  She carefully picked her way to the back door, as she got closer, she became more and more convinced that something was very wrong.  

Lexa drew her sidearm and clicked off the safety.  The back door had been rammed open.  She could see the tree trunk the raiders used left near the door.  From the size of the log there were at least three of them, possibly more.  She listened, she heard green leaves rustling in the breeze, a squirrel barking off in the trees, and the motor of her car.  She took the two steps up into the building in one stride and cleared the back room before stepping in fully.  Again, she listened, silence in the building.  The backroom was full of boxes, Lexa didn’t feel safe examining them until she cleared the sales floor.  

She silently stalked to the door leading out to the sales floor and listened again.  Still silent, she gently nudged the swinging door open with the barrel of her sidearm.  No one moved, no sound was made.  She pushed the door open more fully and cleared every corner before stepping in.  She was behind the counter.  The gun case had been emptied, one of the doors had been torn off and hung off awkwardly.  Lexa hadn’t come for guns, she had plenty of guns, she was concerned that someone had taken all of the guns in the secured cases and may be as well armed as she was.

She slipped silently from behind the counter and spotted the body of a man, the smell of decay only just beginning to waft into the room. He had been shot twice in the chest and was long dead.  From his age and attire, Lexa thought he was probably the owner of this temple to modern warfare.  She kept her weapon drawn and searched through the store for the items she had come for.  Around the corner of a shelving until loaded with ammo cans, Lexa found another body.  This one wasn’t quite dead, he was younger, probably the son of the first body she found.  She did a sweep of the sales floor before going back and kneeling down.  She placed two fingers on the young man’s neck and felt a weak pulse, he was already hot to the touch.  There was a bullet wound in his shoulder and another in his stomach.  The raiders had left him to bleed out slowly and in agony.

Lexa shook her head and considered her options.  The young man moved, he reached up and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was still feeling his pulse.  He said something that Lexa couldn’t understand.  She leaned down and he reached up and pulled her off balance.  She slipped in the congealed blood and barely caught herself to keep from face planting in the sticky cold mess.

“Help my dad,” the young man breathed slowly.

“I can’t help him,” Lexa told him, “He’s already gone.  Has been for awhile.”

The young man sobbed weakly.

“I have a doctor, can you tell me what happened?”  Lexa asked gently, she couldn’t risk bringing Clarke in if there was still a chance of danger.

“We- we were… locked in,” his breathing was labored.  “Three of them… busted down the … door… Sh- shot my dad, shot- shot me… Took all … all of the guns… and am- ammo. No- nothing else.  Last night, hap-... happened last night.”

“I’m going to get the doctor,” Lexa stood and wiped the blood on her hand onto the front of her Kevlar vest.  

She rushed to the front door and out into the street.  “Clarke!  I need help!”

Before she had gotten the words out a panicked Clarke was already out of the car carrying her medical bag.  “What happened?!  Where are you hurt?”  

“It’s not mine,” Lexa told her.  “The owners.  They got raided last night.”

Clarke followed Lexa into the store.  She knelt by the young man, assessing his injuries.  “What’s your name?”

“Arti-gas,” he breathed.

Clarke examined his stomach wound and shook her head.  “It’s sepsis, the bullet nicked his bowel, it’s been leaking into him.”

Lexa looked at the young man sadly.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke said.  “If we were in a hospital, I might be able to do something.  But even then, he’s been here for so long…”

“Did you bring anything that could help?”  Lexa asked softly.

Clarke shook her head sadly.

Lexa nodded her head to the side, Clarke stood and walked away.  Lexa knelt beside the young man’s side again.  “All I can offer is a quick death.”

“Pl-please,” Artigas nodded.

Lexa drew her sidearm.  “Close your eyes and think of something you love.”

He did as told, Lexa held the pistol half an inch away from his brow, sparing him from the last thing he consciously felt being the cold of the barrel.  One shot and he was gone.  Lexa lowered her head in a moment of silence and felt Clarke’s hand on the back of her neck.  She pushed back, seeking comfort in Clarke’s fingers before standing up.  “Let’s get what we came for.”

Lexa found a box of kevlar vests and strapped one to Clarke before gathering the other items she sought.  In the back room, she found a box of live Claymore’s and took them before someone else could come along.  She grabbed every pair of combat boots and stuffed them into duffle bags.  Even if they wouldn’t fit someone, the leather could be useful for other things.  As they made their last pass before leaving Lexa spotted a pair of swords and grabbed them on instinct.  

****

Their field trip to stock up on entertainment was less exuberant than originally planned.  Mercy killings take all of the fun out of movie night.  The big box retailer store they chose had been pretty thoroughly picked over and smashed up.  In the electronics department, they found several undamaged Blu Ray players and filled a cart with discs.  Without much thought, they just grabbed one of everything and piled them into shopping bags in the cart.

They worked mostly in silence, with occasional comforting touches.  The ride back to the bunker was much the same.  Lexa stopped at a gas station and managed to get enough gas between all of the pumps to top off the tank.

When they returned to the bunker, they didn’t speak to anyone.  They merely walked past Finn and Harper playing a board game with Miller and Murphy in Murphy and Harper’s room without a word and locked themselves in their room.  They showered to wash away the remaining blood from their skin and tried to scrub away the guilt of Clarke’s inability to save Artigas and Lexa mercy killing him.  Despite several knocks and attempts to talk to them through the locked door, Clarke and Lexa ignored everyone and curled up on their loveseat together until Lincoln returned to the bunker with Octavia and Bellamy.  Lincoln could access their room from his and he quietly slipped in to deliver the reports from everyone else.

Lexa listened and nodded and informed Lincoln that they just needed some quiet time together, anything else could wait until the next day.  There was no indication that Lincoln invited Octavia into his room that night.  Clarke and Lexa slipped into bed early and cuddled, finding solace and security in the warmth and scents of each other until they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who felt like the last chapter ended abruptly, I'm sure you will forgive me for not ending it with a bloody Lexa running into the street which is where I had originally intended it to end before Miller wandered into the story early. Maybe he was just looking out for my readers.


	9. The Times They Are A-Changin

**May 21, 2017**

Lexa’s face is warm and wet.  It’s a weird way to wake up, being licked in the face.  It’s even weirder when it’s not your girlfriend.  Maybe it would be weirder if it was your girlfriend.  She might have to devote some time to that thought later.

“WHAT THE DAMN HELL?!!?”  Lexa shouts sitting up in the dark.  There is an outline and the bed seems to be bouncing slightly.

“Leeexxxx,” Clarke whined.  “Stop slapping me.”

“I’m not slapping you, Clarke,” Lexa reached over and flipped on the lamp on her bedside table.

Between their pillows lay a smiling blue pit bull, her head facing Lexa and her tail thumping Clarke on the cheek.  Her blue eyes weren’t as pretty as Clarke’s, but her smile was kind of contagious.  She had white markings on her neck and chest.

“Hey there, pretty girl,“ Lexa cooed.  “How did you get in here?”  

The pibble wagged at her, thumping Clarke harder with her whip like tail.

“Lex, what the hell?”  Clarke groaned catching the thumping tail.  “What?!”  She sat up and looked at the dog lying between them.

The pibble turned around and nuzzled into Clarke.  “Babe, there is a dog in our bed.”

“Is that what that is?”  Lexa said sarcastically.

“Where did it come from?”  Her voice still scratchy with sleep.

“That way, I think,” Lexa pointed toward the hall to Lincoln’s room where the door hung open.  Lexa slipped out of bed and entered the hall between their room and Lincolns, the dog padded after her smiling and wagging.  The door on Lincoln’s end was open slightly.  “Linc?”

“Hmmm,” his hum was sleepy.

“There was a dog in my bed,” Lexa said.

“That’s no way to talk about your girl, Lex,” Lincoln mumbled sleepily.

“I will punch you in the head, Linc,” Lexa threatened.  “Why is there a pit bull here?”

“Because Clarke didn’t close your door after her two am bathroom trip?”  It was true, Clarke had to pee sometime between two and four am every single morning.

Lexa walked over to Lincoln’s bed and punched him in the arm, hard.

“OW!  We found them today!  Shit that hurts!”  

Lexa hit him again.  “Them, Linc!?!”

Lincoln scooted out of Lexa’s reach.  “Um, I was going to tell you but you obviously had a bad day, so I was waiting for you to be less surly,”  Lincoln rolled his eyes.  “Like that was an actual possibility.”

“We’re still trying to figure out how to make sure to keep us fed indefinitely and you bring in at least two dogs?”  Lexa shouted.

“You’re a shitty guard dog,” Lincoln told the smiling pibble who was watching Lexa smack him again.

Clarke slipped into Linc’s room and knelt down to scratch the blue pit.  “Aren’t you a pretty girl?”  The pibble smiled for her.

“Apparently there is another one,” Lexa grumped.

“Where?!”  Clarke’s eyes lit up.

“With Octavia, he annoys her,” Linc told them.

“Lincoln, I’m sure you thought this through well enough to answer a very important question,” Lexa began.  “How exactly did you plan to deal with their biological needs?”

“Um, the same way we deal with the cow, pig, and chicken shit?”  Lincoln answered puffed up.

“No, dumb ass, we can burn cow and pig manure for fuel to keep their cave warm, the chicken poop is fertilizer for the greenhouse,” Lexa snapped.  “Carnivore poop is useless and smells bad.”

“Then I’ll just have to train them to use the toilet,” Lincoln snapped back.

Clarke was sitting in the floor with the pibble in her lap, “Can you learn to flush, sweet girl?”

“I’m pretty sure they’re staying, so we’ll figure it out,” Lincoln pointed at Clarke.

Lexa sighed, “Did you name them?”

“Not yet,” Lincoln grinned.

****

‘He’ turned out to be a half grown Siberian Husky who quickly decided that Lexa was his person.  It happened over breakfast while Boudica, Bo for short, laid under Clarke’s chair.  The half grown gray and white fuzzball followed the smell of sausage into the kitchen where Lexa, Clarke, Anya, and Lincoln were eating.  He ate the bowl of food Linc provided and circled the table twice before sitting down beside Lexa and looking at her with big blue eyes.  The black markings around his eyes were loosely defined and looked a little like he had been crying black tears.

“Is this some kind of blue eyed conspiracy?”  Lexa huffed.

Clarke giggled, “Yes, my love, we’ve all plotted against you.”

Lexa looked at the husky pup, “Can I help you with something?”

He whined with a soft woof at the end.

“Do you need to go out?”  Lexa asked him.

The husky stood up and wagged his tail.  Lexa had finished eating, so she stood and lead both dogs out into the caves.  The male sniffed at the wall like he might mark it.  “No,” Lexa told him sternly.  He changed his plans and followed her out into the forest with only the slightest interest in the farm animals.  Bo followed along smiling.  “Go on,” she urged.  Bo hurried off a few yards and did her business before returning to sit next to Lexa.  The husky sniffed, trotted, sniffed some more, marked a few trees and finally got around to taking care of business.  “Are you about done?”  She asked when he started sniffing again.  The pup looked up at her like he only just remembered she was there and ran back to her wagging.  “Come on then,” she led them back into the bunker.

Bo trotted off towards the barracks, probably in search of Clarke.  Lexa went to the Watchtower with the wagging husky at her heels.  Monty hadn’t turned up yet, but there was a legal pad with notes scribbled on it.  Lexa read through them quickly and then spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out how she ended up in charge of all of these people.  She was technically an NCOIC, but there was rarely anyone of lower rank out in the field with them.  Once she had finished her little pity party/freakout, she made a list of the people in the bunker and assigned them duties.  Some were pretty obvious, Monty in the Watchtower, Jasper in the greenhouse, Clarke and Harper in the infirmary, Raven in charge of keeping things running.  Others were less so, she still didn’t even know what Bellamy did before the asteroid.  Octavia was a cop, Lexa didn’t think security required much more than herself and Monty in the Watchtower at this point.  Murphy had driven a truck, not terribly useful after the breakdown of society.  Miller sold medical supplies, that was probably less useful than truck driver.  Lincoln needed to be in charge of the farm, he was going to need to rebuild and adjust plans on the fly trying to figure out how to raise farm animals without fields.  Maybe Miller could handle inventory and supply.  She worked out the duty assignments and expected to hear complaints about them all day.  She left the pad for Monty to find and distribute and went out to work with Lincoln on the farm.  Heavy lifting and hard work might be just the thing.  The husky pup trotted after her.

****

Clarke had finished her breakfast and went to check on their patients.  After picking up her bag she sought Miller first, she made a wild guess that he had ended up by himself in the last barracks room.  Clarke knocked and waited for him to answer.  He opened the door wearing borrowed pajama pants and no shirt.  

“I need to check your wound,” he was bleary eyed and still mostly asleep but nodded and stepped back to let her in. He sat down on the loveseat and leaned away to give Clarke better access.  She cut away the old dressings and checked for infection.  His stitches looked fine.  “This is going to sting,” she swabbed him with iodine before bandaging him back up.

“How do you feel?”  Clarke asked packing her bag back up.

“Lost, mostly.  Physically fine, a little sore but that’s to be expected, I guess,”  Miller rambled.

“Yeah, side effects of a bullet usually include being sore,” Clarke joked.

He chuckled, “How do you cope?”

“I’ve got Lexa,” Clarke shrugged.  “I found my soulmate at the end of the world.”  She took a moment to collect her thoughts.  “Yesterday was a really bad day, for both of us.  We found a guy we couldn’t help.  I know the day we met you we killed people, we had to in order to stay alive ourselves.  The guy yesterday, all we could do was put him out of his misery.  That was really hard and it probably won’t even be the last time.”

Miller nodded, waiting to see if she would continue.

“I’m not great at coping, I tend to swing to extremes,” Clarke looked resolutely at the floor.  “We’re already at extremes, she makes me feel safe.”

“I’ve never felt that,” Miller admitted.  “I had a serious boyfriend, Bryan, he died, two years ago.  Even during those great early years, I still felt ... stretched, you know?”

“I do,” Clarke nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Miller said.  “I’m sure you didn’t intend for your morning to start out so heavy.”

“It’s fine,” Clarke waved off his concern.  “If you need a friend, I’m here.”  Clarke stood and opened the door to find Bo sitting outside of it waiting for her.  “Hey Bo,” the dog smiled up at her.  Clarke looked back at Miller, “Go get some sunshine today, drag Monty out with you, I don’t think he’s been out from behind those computer screens since he got here.”

A soft rap on Harper and Murphy’s slightly opened door revealed Finn playing cards with the wounded warrior.

“Good morning, Clarke,” Finn smiled brightly.  “How are you feeling today?  I was worried about you last night.”

“I’m fine,” she walked in with Bo right behind her.  The dog positioned herself between Clarke and Finn, Clarke didn’t notice, Murphy did.  “How are you today, John?”

“I’d like to get out of this damn bed, Griff,” Murphy groused.

“What did Harper say about that?”  Clarke inquired.

Murphy made a series of mocking noises and rolled his eyes.

“That’s no way to talk to your doctor,” Finn scolded.

Clarke ignored Finn and focused on Murphy who raised an eyebrow at her.  “She wants to wait a couple more days.  Griff, this bed is killing me!  You’re my doctor, she’s a surgeon, it’s her job to be paranoid.”

“John,” Clarke said calmly.  “If I had access to an MRI, I’d be willing to slap you in the wheelchair as soon as I could be sure everything was healing as it should.”

“You’ve got a portable ultrasound,” Miller said from the doorway, dressed in borrowed jeans and a t-shirt.

“I do?”  Clarke looked surprised.

“Commander Scary grabbed one while you were cleaning out my warehouse,” he told her.

“Commander Scary?”  Clarke asked.

“She held a gun to my head,” Miller reasoned.

“Oh, come on Clarke, don’t act like Lexa’s not scary beyond all reason,” John was grinning as he spoke.

Clarke sighed, “Come on Miller, help me find it so we can get Murphy off of his soft comfy prison.”

“A prison is still a prison, Griff.  No matter how much cotton batting you stuff into it!”  Murphy shouted after them.

They returned a few minutes later with the wheelchair and the portable ultrasound.  After wrangling him around onto his stomach they got a good look at how he was healing internally.  Everything looked fine.  “Alright,” Clarke said.  “I’m going to let you get in the chair…”

“WAHOOOO,” Murphy whooped.

“But,” Clarke continued.  “You have to stay in the chair for another few weeks and for at least a week, I would rather have someone pushing you than you rolling yourself.”

“I’ll take it,” Murphy smiled.  “Just let me out of this room.”

****

Clarke left Murphy in the living room with Miller pushing him around.  She thinks Finn was with them, but she’s getting so good at ignoring his presence that she’s not really sure.  Except she is, because he makes her uncomfortable, Clarke doesn’t like feeling uncomfortable.  She hasn’t been uncomfortable since she went off the rails in college.  She shakes it off and wanders to the Watchtower, Bo trotting along behind her.  

Monty is keeping an eye on things, all of the things.  There are three different news stations on, the current view of the asteroid, all of the common areas of the bunker, and another dedicated to cycling through the exterior cameras.  She sees Raven and Anya hiking up the mountain.

“You’re still not Martian Manhunter,” Clarke joked.

“I can dream, Clarke,” Monty smiled.  “How are you?”

Clarke pulled out the other rolling chair and sat down in it, Bo plopped down between Clarke and the door.  Clarke’s eyes skimmed the common areas and settled on the screen showing Lexa working with Lincoln and Bellamy on the farm.  Monty must have seen her expression change.

“I’m great, Monty,” the man imitated a female voice.  “I’m so in lurve with the hot Base Commander.  She makes my loins burn!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Clarke scoffed.

“Are you going to deny that you love her?”  Monty asked.

“No, she’s perfect,” Clarke got that dopey expression she got whenever she looked at Lexa.  Monty rolled his eyes at her.  “How are you holding up?”

“It’s weird,” he said.  “I mean, are these the people I’m going to spend the rest of my life with?  How long will that be exactly?”

“You can’t think like that,” Clarke shook her head.  “You need to go outside for a little bit.  Doctors orders.  I got it in here.”

Monty furrowed his brow at her.  “Outside?  Like with nature?”  He joked.

“Yes, sunshine, trees.  Go spend some time out in it before we run out of time,” Clarke pressured.

“It’s not like we’re under threat of some fast ticking doomsday clock,” Monty joked.

“T minus seven days,” Clarke says.

“I think I will go outside,” he points at a button.  “If you need to use the PA press this.  It’s all of the rooms, though.”

She stared at the screens for awhile. She watched Monty stop and speak with the guys in the living room, Miller pushed Murphy outside.  Lexa stopped working when they walked through the farm cavern.  They exchanged a few words.  Clarke smiled and watched sweaty Lexa work for awhile.  She got bored after a while and picked up Monty’s pad and a pencil.  She sketched out the Justice League Watchtower from memory.  She thought it looked pretty good, she was still shading it when she felt Lexa’s presence.

“Remind me to never put you on monitor duty,” her tone was soft and kind.  Bo’s tone was less kind when the husky pup leapt upon her with puppy exuberance.  “Cut that out,” Lexa admonished the pup, who ceased his game of ‘I’m Not Touching You:  Puppy Edition™’ and plopped down by the door.

Clarke turned and unabashedly leered at Lexa, “I get bored easily and I had to stop watching you because I didn’t want to be all hot and bothered when Monty came back.”

“Oh really,” Lexa pulled Clarke up out of her seat and kissed her wantonly.

The smell of sweaty, earthy Lexa was causing quite a stir in Clarke’s lower abdomen.

Lexa lifted Clarke onto the counter and slipped between her knees.

“Not on my desk,” Monty cried out.  “I have to work there and the very idea of _girl_ parts,” Monty shivered dramatically.

Lexa laughed.

“Go paw at each other in your own room,” Monty ordered.

Clarke wiggled an eyebrow at the Ranger.  

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, love,” Lexa kissed Clarke’s forehead.  “Wanna watch me drill post holes in rock?”

Clarke followed Lexa out to the caverns, walking a few steps behind her so she could appreciate that exquisite heart shaped ass.  Clarke really wanted to bite that ass, she made a mental note to add that to her to-do list for the evening.

“When did we get horses?”  Clarke was confused by the sudden and inexplicable appearance of three large Clydesdale's.

Lincoln was digging a small canal to divert water into the animal pens.  “Yesterday,” he leaned on his shovel.  “I found them just standing in a field.  The property was abandoned, I loaded up the feed bags, too.”

“Lincoln is just a big softy,” Bell grinned, splitting logs with an axe.  “The only reason he didn’t bring home the cats we saw while getting supplies was because O told him you would go into anaphylactic shock.”

“Speaking of supplies,” Clarke interjected.  “We should probably take Miller into town to pack up his things.”

Lexa nodded, lining up the big drill on the spot Linc marked.  “We’ll go tomorrow.”

Clarke found a brush and groomed the horses.  She actually knew how to ride, when she was young her grandparents bred race horses upstate, so she had riding lessons and knew how to care for the ungulates.  Bo stayed well clear of the huge horses.  The husky pup had gone out the sniff everything in the forest.

****

Sometime after the Clydesdale's were sufficiently groomed and she had spoiled them with handfuls of oats, Raven and Anya came in from outside, sniping at each other.

“Well God forbid I’m not an expert tree climber,” Raven was grousing.  “I’ve launched satellites into space.  There’s one up there with one of my obscene doodles next to the solar cells.”

Clarke and Bellamy laughed, being the only two people in the bunker familiar with Raven’s history of engraving genitalia onto things she built.  She had justified her juvenile behavior by explaining that armor and weapon smiths often left their mark on finished pieces.  Bellamy had argued that she only knew that because he told to her about it and she called him a nerd for it.

“Shut up, nerds,” Raven yelled at them.

“Raven, you own a caliper and you know what it’s for,” Clarke called back.  “You’ve got way stronger nerd credentials than anyone else in this bunker.”

“Bitch, I’ve got six different calipers and they are all for different measurements,” Raven called back.

“Prosecution rests,” Bellamy laughed.

“A nerd who can’t climb trees,” Anya said with finality.  “Out of curiosity, what’s the obscene doodle?”

“A pair of crossed dicks,” Raven grinned.  “I call it the Jolly Johnson.”

Lincoln laughed, Anya just stared at Raven like she had lost her mind.  Lexa shook her head and went back to her task of filling the shallow post holes with quick drying concrete before standing one of Bellamy’s split logs into it.  Lincoln had routed out holes in the posts to feed barrier rails through.  Clarke was pretty sure she had seen fences of similar design in British history books.  She was almost certain it was Bellamy that convinced Lincoln to go with this design.

“Your obsession with dicks is a little concerning, Gearhead,” Anya shook her head.

“Is it wrong that I kind of always wanted to know what having one would be like?” Raven defended.

“Rae, stop while you’re ahead,” Bellamy shook his head while swinging his axe.  Clarke could tell he was trying to get any of the women in the cave to note his rippling muscles.  It wasn’t working.  Clarke only had eyes for Lexa and Anya and Raven were so busy with their verbal foreplay that Bellamy was wasting his efforts.

“I don’t know if it’s wrong, but I wouldn’t go around telling people,” Anya smirked.

“You have no interest in knowing what it feels like inside of a woman?”  Raven had really put her foot in it that time.

“I know exactly what it feels like inside of a woman,” Anya grinned predatorily.

“Me too,” Lexa shrugged.

“It feels fantastic,” Clarke added.

“Dammit, that’s not what I meant,” Raven shouted turning bright red.  Bellamy and Lincoln too busy laughing to add anything.

“It feels even better to have a woman inside you,” Anya’s verbal pounce made Raven turn even redder.

“Oh my God, yes,” Clarke agreed.

Lexa smiled at Clarke and raised an eyebrow, “Usually when you say that your voice is a little breathier.”

Clarke smiled and moved to kiss Lexa.  

“I saw a porno that started out like this once,” Bellamy told Lincoln.

“I’ll give you a demonstration later if you’re interested,” Anya smirked at Raven.

“I’m going to my room, now,” Raven scampered away as quickly as she could.

“That was fun,” Anya chuckled.  “You guys need another set of hands?”

“I think we’re good,” Lincoln replied.  “Lex has two more posts to seat and then we’ll just need to fit the rails in.”

“How did everything go up there?”  Lexa asked.

“It’s good, she thinks the solar panels will be fine as long as the fires burn quick.  Your crazy uncle seemed to be anticipating wildfires when he placed the solar panels and turbines on rocky patches well away from grass and trees,” Anya told her.

Lexa nodded and placed the second to last post.

****

They were staggering into the kitchen in search of food and showers.  The Clydesdale paddock was complete, a water system was implemented to make sure the horses had fresh water.  Lincoln was still trying to figure out how to deal with the waste water from floor clean up.  He planned to get Monty to show him the sewage schematics after dinner.  

“Why am I exiled to KP duty?”  Octavia growled at Lexa.  “I can do more than fucking cook and clean.”  Octavia and Finn had been assigned to the kitchen for the immediate future.  Anya was strong enough to help Raven with any tasks with the power systems and had the training to fight off any attackers.  Monty was the only one who could currently run the entire system, it was a good thing he liked being in the Watchtower.  Jasper was the only person with the knowledge to take care of the greenhouse.  Every time she had been down there or glanced at the monitors in the Watchtower he was diligently working to get the best crops he could.  Murphy and Miller were convalescing, both would probably end up in the kitchens once they had healed.  Bellamy was strong and followed orders, Lincoln needed strong backs to help with his work.  Octavia didn’t need to know that it also occurred to Lexa that Bellamy would have fewer issues with their developing relationship if he got to know Linc and discovered what a kind, gentle soul he was.

Lexa was tired, sore, and hungry and really not in any mood for bullshit.  “For right now, you’re the only person who knows their way around in here and doesn’t have a more pressing job.”

“I am not a maid, Lexa,” Octavia snapped.

“I’m not a crisis shelter director but we take the positions we get,” Lexa snapped back before storming off towards the barracks, the still unnamed pup at her heels.

Clarke thought about defending Lexa to Octavia but saw Finn looking at her with his stupid puppy eyes.   _He’s a grown fucking man, not a child_.  As she moved to go after Lexa she heard Linc and Bell come to Lexa’s defense.

“Octavia, I know it’s not your favorite thing to do and as soon as I figure out how to keep the livestock contained, clean, and healthy, I will be right back in here, because I really do like to cook for everyone,” Lincoln explained softly.  

Bellamy spoke up.  “Cut Lexa some slack, she’s keeping us alive.  She didn’t have to take us in.”

****

Clarke left the dogs in their room and followed Lexa into the shower.  It was a large shower, more than big enough for two.  “Lincoln was talking to her,” Clarke said helping Lexa to strip off her filthy, sweaty clothes.

“I didn’t go to OCS because I didn’t want to be in charge,” Lexa sighed.

“I know, love,” Clarke kissed her softly.  “You know what they say, the people who want power are the ones least suited to have it.”

“Is that your crappy inspirational poster way of telling me ‘tough shit’?”  Lexa smiled slightly.

“Something like that,” Clarke soaped up a loofah and began to scrub at Lexa’s skin.  “I don’t mean to minimize your dissatisfaction with the status quo, but you looked damn sexy working today and as soon as possible, I need to lick and bite just about every part of you.”

“What parts are you not licking or biting?”  Lexa smirked.

“I’m not big on armpits,” Clarke said while soaping up her girlfriend’s armpits.  “I’m also not big on feet.  Everything else is fair game.”

After some soft kisses and a few gentle caresses between getting clean, they walked into their room to see two heaping plates of food.  “This is Octavia’s way of saying sorry,” Clarke picked up a roll and shoved most of it into her mouth in one go.  “I’m really hungry.”

Bellies full and muscles sore they settled on the loveseat and watched a movie.  They were comfortable and drowsy when a knock on the connecting door brought Lexa back to alertness.

“Yeah,” Lexa called.

Octavia opened the door and looked nervous.  

“Octavia,” Lexa said evenly.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Octavia tried to look Lexa in the eye.  It was hard because Lexa had on her annoyed face.  “We’ve all got to pull our weight and me jumping on you for trying to keep us safe and alive was kind of shitty.  I’m sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” Lexa nodded.  “It’s going to be a long apocalypse if we can’t get along.”

“I know,” Octavia sighed.  “I feel like a dick.”

Clarke snorted, remembering Raven earlier.  “Oh my God, you have to go mess with Raven because she wants to have a dick.”

Octavia cocked her head at Clarke, “Raven’s not trans, I think we’d know that after all this time.  I mean, that's a woman who loves her vagina.”

“Precisely,” Clarke laughed.  “She was trying to justify etching dicks on things and trying to impress Anya at the same time and she just stepped in it.  It was hilarious.”

“I think Raven has a little crush on Anya,” Octavia confided.

“Wouldn’t be her first girl crush,” Clarke said snuggled into a warm comfy Lexa.

“What?!”  Octavia exclaimed.

“Oh shit, that was a secret,” Clarke was awake and alert again.  “You can’t say anything to her!”

“Who was it?”  Octavia demanded.  “Tell me!”

Clarke fidgeted with Lexa’s fingers and sighed.  “You have to swear to never say anything about it, ever, to anyone.”

“It was _YOU_!”  Octavia accused.

Clarke nuzzled back into Lexa.  “It was me.”

“When?”  Octavia demanded.

Clarke was oddly reassured by Lexa’s indifference to the past.  She held Clarke as she cuddled and planted soft kisses on her temple.  “The year before my Dad died.  I was dating Wells so nothing ever came of it, but she got really drunk one night at told me.  I don’t even think she remembers.”  

“Interesting.  Why you and not me?”  Octavia mused.

“Don’t make it weird, O,”  Clarke groaned.

“Yeah, okay,” Octavia switched her attention to the sleepy Ranger.  “Aren’t you just a soft fluffy ball of cuddles.”

“Get out before I sic the dogs on you,” Lexa said sleepily. **  
**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the world knows the pibble as the American Bulldog. Somebody commented that I should save the puppies, so I saved two and turned them into familiars for Clexa.
> 
> Since I currently have no ideas for naming the male husky, I'm open to suggestion.


	10. Evil Louie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get unbelievably fucked up toward the end of this chapter. 
> 
> Trigger warnings for violence, extreme violence, BAMF Lexa has to puke afterward extreme violence, and implied off page rape and torture. 
> 
> All of our characters are fine. I would like to reiterate, nobody who's name we know died or was seriously injured in the writing of this chapter.

**May 22, 2017**

****

The pup was better than an alarm clock.  First came the thumping sound of his tail against the wooden nightstand on Lexa’s side of the bed.  As if he could tell that his person had shifted from asleep to conscious, he whined softly.  When Lexa didn’t roll away from Clarke’s warm body he whined again.

“Babe, I think your son needs to go out,” Clarke’s voice was sleepy but amused.

Another thumping sound started on Clarke’s side of the bed.

“I don’t think he’s the only one,” Lexa murmured.  “Can we put in a doggy door so I don’t have to move away from you?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Clarke’s voice was flat.

“No, better not give him another way to watch you,” Lexa said softly.

Clarke rolled over in her arms and managed to find her eyes in the dark.

“I’ve seen him and Murphy’s seen it,” Lexa told her.  “He’s not also allowed in the Watchtower anymore.”

“He was in the Watchtower?”  

“Monty emailed last night with the day's report and said that Finn spent a couple hours hanging out in there while we worked on the farm,” Lexa told her.  “It took him a while to realize that he was watching you on the monitors.  The door will be secured going forward.”

Clarke sighed.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Clarke,” Lexa kissed her forehead.

“I know, I just, I don’t know what to do.  I don’t want to throw him out to die,” Clarke fretted.

“You could talk to Raven,” Lexa suggested.

“Not a good idea right now,” Clarke shook her head.  “Raven’s in a weird place with the Anya thing, she could end up clinging to him and causing more problems.”

“Then we’ll keep an eye on him,” Lexa said.  “We need to pick up some stuff while we’re out with Miller.”

The pup whined again.

“Are you ever going to name him?”  Clarke looked over Lexa’s shoulder to see him with his muzzle on the bed.

Lexa shrugged, “He’ll tell me what his name is eventually.”

****

An hour later Lexa was in full battle gear, Clarke was wearing black BDUs and a kevlar vest.  She was strapped with as many weapons as Lexa with the addition of her med kit divided into two packs strapped to either leg.

“I feel like a badass,” Clarke mused.  They were in the kitchen waiting for Miller.  

Lexa could see Finn staring at Clarke from the pantry.  She was glad that he was stupid enough to think he was being subtle.  Or maybe he thought she was stupid, either way, it worked to her advantage,

Murphy rolled in pushed by Miller, “Damn, Griff, who are we invading?”

“Miller’s closet,” Clarke joked.

“It’s empty,” Miller grinned.  “I came out years ago.”

“Do you need anything, John?”  Lexa asked.  “You’re the only one who hasn’t had a chance to go out and get what they need.”

He handed her a folded slip of paper.  After a quick look she stuck it in her breast pocket and nodded.  “Consider it done.”

“Do you have Harper’s list?”  Clarke asked patting her pockets.

Lexa patted the same pocket she had slipped Murphy’s note into.

“You two be careful,” Murphy warned.  “The headlines are getting few and far between and they are all bad.”

Lexa nodded.  She had seen the headlines, they were indeed bad.  Nations that had been posturing and threatening to blow each other off the map for decades were finally getting around to it just so they could wipe out their enemies without fear of reprisals.  Thousand year old grudges were being ended with huge bombs and mass slaughters.  A story that hit the wire from Al Jazeera reported that Russia was setting up “shelters” and executing anyone they didn’t want in the shelters.  Because the end of the world is totally the time to get judgey about religion, politics, and sexuality.

Clarke turned and walked past Finn to go out the side door.  Lexa watched as his eyes followed Clarke.  She shoulder checked him on the way past and gave him a withering look over her shoulder.

The guns had already been loaded, she took them out when she took the dogs out that morning.  With Finn around she was going to have to keep them more secure.  She didn’t trust him not to take one and do something stupid.  He looked to her like a guy who would do something fatally stupid.  

Clarke got into the Outback’s passenger seat and giggled.   Lexa looked to see why Clarke had giggled.  The pup was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“You’re not going,” Lexa pulled open the driver’s door as Miller got in the backseat behind Clarke.

The husky pup looked at her but didn’t move.

“Come on, get out,” Lexa said.

He looked at Clarke, who tried not to laugh.

“Get out of my seat,” Lexa was getting frustrated.  The pup jumped into the back next to Miller.  “I said you’re not going, now get out of the car!”

Never in her life had Lexa “the Bomb Dog Whisperer” Woods been so pointedly ignored by a canine.

“Get out of the car you mutinous fluffball,” Lexa scolded.

He laid down in the backseat.

“Lexa, just let him ride,” Clarke said.  “He’ll stay in the car when we get out.”

The pup gave Clarke a look that plainly said, _Like hell I will_.

“You need to not encourage his defiance, Clarke,” Lexa rolled her eyes.

The pup whined at Clarke.  “Lex, just get in the car.”

Lexa gave the pup a murderous look (he looked away), before sitting down and programming the GPS.

“Where are we going first?”  Clarke asked, trying to change the subject away from the mutinous puppy in the backseat.

“Murphy’s, then Harper’s, then Miller’s,” she replied.  “I want to stop at any pawn shops we see along the way.”

“Why pawn shops?”  Miller asked.

“Guns, they’ll have already cleaned out the gun shops, but they may have forgotten the pawn shops,” Lexa explained.

“Good thinking,” Miller agreed, he held the kevlar vest Lexa had given him in his lap.  It wasn’t comfortable to wear on his still healing wound.  He had agreed to put it on before he got out of the car.

****

Two blocks from Murphy’s house they saw their first pawn shop in a little strip mall.  She pulled around to the back, not wanting to park so close to what used to be a busy street.  She handed both Miller and Clarke rifles before grabbing the shotgun and checking the back door.  It was bolted shut.  She drew her sidearm and pulled a silencer from the pocket on her thigh.  Once the silencer was secured she looked for the electrical box and shot off the lock.  The silencer didn’t make the shot silent, but it did reduce the noise level so that people for miles around wouldn’t hear the shot.  Just people in the immediate few blocks.  She switched off the main power to prevent any alarms from sounding before shooting out the two locks on the back door of the pawn shop.

“Miller, stay at the door, I want to know if anybody approaches the second you see them,” Lexa ordered.  “Even a dog or a kid, Miller.  Clarke, you’re with me.”  

Miller had left his window open when he got out of the car, but the pup had stayed in his spot in the back seat.  Miller looked around warily as the women disappeared into the store.  The pup seemed to be just as alert as Miller.

Lexa cleared the back room and moved to clear the sales floor.  Clarke followed warily.

Inside the shop, Clarke was surprised to see the guns had already been mostly removed, but since the store had obviously not been broken into she suspected that the owners had cleared it out before they fled.

Lexa was filling her pockets and a medium sized rucksack with items Clarke couldn’t quite make out in the filtered light from the barred front windows.

She spotted something on the wall that she wanted very badly, though.  It was a vintage Gibson J-45 acoustic and it going back to the bunker with Clarke.  She lowered her rifle long enough to pull the instrument off the wall and sling it over her back.  In a nearby basket she spotted a selection of replacement strings that would work, she stuffed them into her pocket.

“Do you play?”  Lexa asked looking at her from the other side of the store where she was hoisting a large box labeled ‘home brewing kit’.

“My dad taught me, he had a guitar just like this one,” she replied.  “We’re going to need to hit a nursery and see if we can find some hops for Jasper if you want to take that home.  We’ll need yeast, too.”  

Clarke pulled out her phone and emailed Jasper.  They were loading up the few guns that they recovered, a few shotguns and a couple of .22 rifles, when a reply came.  

 

 

> _Clarke,_
> 
> _It’s a good idea, need more than that, though.  Taking Linc, Bell, and Anya’s truck.  Please don’t shoot if you see us in town._
> 
> _-Jas_

She showed it to Lexa who briefly debated leaving the kit, but decided extra parts were always a good thing.  Next door had been a sandwich shop.  Lexa quickly surmised the place would be loaded with five gallon pickle buckets and broke in to liberate them for eventual beer use.  She also loaded up all of the salt she could find.

“Got a craving?”  Clarke grinned.

“Five gallon buckets are great for home brewing and a lot of other stuff,” Lexa replied.  “You can never have enough salt in the apocalypse.”

****

Murphy’s house was in an older neighborhood, most of the houses looked like they were built in the aftermath World War II.  It was a nice neighborhood, older, but well kept.  The houses were close together and many of them had similar designs.  At Murphy’s they emptied his closet and dresser into one of the Army duffles Lexa brought.  She demonstrated how to stand jump in them to pack in more stuff.  Lexa found the bookshelf Murphy mentioned in his note and collected the photo albums and the listed books.  She handed them to Miller when she heard the pup bark from the car.   

Lexa peeked out of the front window and looked for what the pup was barking at.  He was facing the side of the house so she changed windows.  There was a boy, twelve or thirteen looking out the window of the house next door.  He seemed enthralled with the site of the pup in the Outback.

“Shit,” Lexa swore.  Clarke ran out of Murphy’s bedroom.

“What is it?”  She was on the verge of panic.

“A kid,” Lexa pointed across the side yard.

“Do you think he’s alone over there?”  Clarke asked.

“I don’t know,” Lexa worried.  Too often in wars children were used as bomb delivery systems.  They couldn’t get out of the house without the kid seeing them and at this point, he had already seen the dog.  At that moment, the boy’s eyes left the dog and met Lexa’s through the windows.

“Fuck,” Lexa pulled her sidearm and pointed it at the kid in the window next door.  The boy raised his hands and shook his head.  Then he looked pointedly toward the back door.  Lexa nodded and pushed Clarke against the wall, putting a finger to her lips.  Warning her to stay with her eyes.  She screwed on the silencer as she moved back down through the house.  Miller was closing up the duffle when Lexa caught his attention and mimed for him to ready his weapon and protect Clarke.  She slipped stealthily toward the kitchen and the back door.  She could see the shadows of two men, maybe three gathering at the door.  She knelt mostly behind the kitchen doorway and trained her weapon on the door, waiting.

She didn’t have to wait long for the door to burst open and a man to start looking for someone to shoot.  Their eyes met and she put a bullet in his brain, he dropped blocking the entrance.  The second male tried to step over him, not sure what had happened.  When he saw Lexa still crouched behind the door frame, he raised his rifle.  Lexa put a bullet between his eyes.  The third shadow disappeared.

Lexa went back to Clarke and Miller, “Stay put.”

“Lexa, wait,” Clarke said, peering out of the window.  “Come here.”

Lexa moved to peek out the window and saw the boy and a man had a gun to his head.  He was looking at Lexa and his intentions were clear.

“Close the curtain, stay here,” Lexa ordered.  “Do not look out of that window again, Clarke.”

Clarke looked at Lexa with fear in her eyes, “You don’t know how many are in there, Lex.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lexa told her.  “I can’t let him hurt the kid and we can’t leave until they are no longer a threat.”

“Lex,” Clarke pleaded.

“I’ll be okay, Clarke,” Lexa soothed.  “I do this for a living.”

Clarke kissed her.  “Come back to me.”

Lexa smiled and slipped out of the room and through the kitchen to the back door.  Clarke decided Miller could peek out of the window if she couldn’t.  Lexa didn’t tell _Miller_ not to look.  So, Clarke indicated the window and raised an eyebrow at Miller.  

He shrugged and hid himself the best he could.  Then he had a thought and flung open the curtain, waving his rifle at man holding the gun to the kid’s head.  The gunman and the boy's eyes were locked on Miller.  Out of the corner of his vision, Miller saw motion crossing the space between the houses.  He hoped it was Lexa, he dared not look to draw the attention of the man with the gun to the movement.  Miller flipped the gunman off, because provocation seemed like the best distraction.  He could see the man in the window shouting at him.  When he was certain he had seen a door open and close at the back of the house he lowered his finger and closed the curtain.  

“Get ready to run for the car,” he said to Clarke.

“We’re not leaving Lexa,” Clarke nearly shouted.

“Of course not, Clarke.  But I really pissed that guy off so this will probably go quick,” he reasoned.

Clarke nodded and carried the things they had collected to the front door.  There she waited for instructions.  She thought she heard screaming from the house next door.  A moment later she knew she heard a gunshot.  Clarke tried very hard not to worry and panic.  She knew that Lexa was strong, smart, and well trained.  She had to be calm and patient.

And then everything went dark.

\------

Before Jasper left with Lincoln and Bellamy he asked Raven to see if she could set up the extra lighting from the garden in one of the two empty rooms on the main level.  He must not have been aware of the extra kits in the storage room.  Raven wasn’t sure anybody but her had taken the time to see what was actually in there.  It was like having a secret, she enjoyed it.  She had found a ladder and started pulling apart the ceiling in the empty room closest to the Watchtower.  She had hoped to be able to converse via shouts between rooms with Monty, but he was in there with the door locked.

Raven tried not to think about the fierce looking bleach blonde that made her feel funny.  She knew what it was, it was a crush, but she didn’t want to admit it.  She’d never admitted the crush she had on Clarke in college, she wasn’t going to admit this one.   _No way, no how_.  She would get over it in time, it would fade just like her attraction to Clarke had.

“Why are you tearing up the ceiling?”

 _Shit,_ just exactly the voice she didn’t want to hear.  Just exactly the almond eyes and lethal cheekbones she didn’t want to see.  

“Grease monkey?”  Anya called.

Raven hated what the sound of her voice did to her, it made her happy.   _Fucking happy, goddammit_.  Raven ripped down a light fixture.

“Raven?”  Anya’s voice was softer than Raven had ever heard.  Laced with concern.   _Fuck, because what I really need is to find out she can be kind._

Raven ripped at another fixture and got a shock.  “Shit!”  She jerked and felt herself falling off the ladder.  She never hit the floor, Anya caught her.

“Are you okay?”  Anya looked her over, looking for signs of injury.

“I’m fine,” Raven snapped and shook Anya off.

“Why are you snapping at me?”  Anya slipped back into her normal persona.

“Your stupid face,” Raven climbed back up the ladder.

“That’s all you got?  Should I leave and come back to give you time to come up with some snappy comebacks?”  Anya taunted.

“You can just leave,” Raven growled.

“Not until you tell me what you’re doing,” Anya stood firm.  “I’m in charge when Lexa’s not here.”

Raven sighed.  “Jasper asked me to hook up the grow lights in here so he has more room to grow something.  I didn’t ask what.”

“Okay,” Anya nodded.  “Would you like some help?”

 _Dammit.  Dammit.  Dammit.  No.  No sexy badass._  “Yes.”   _WHAT?  No, I clearly meant no!_  “If you don’t have anything else going.”   _What the fuck is wrong with me?_

“Give me just a second,” Anya stepped out of the room and knocked on the Watchtower door.  

Raven heard it open and close again.  She found the naked wire that had shocked her and put a connector on it for safety. _I’m not gay, I don’t do girls._  Even Raven didn’t believe herself.   _I have a boyfriend, I love him.  He’s very sweet._  She did love him, but he had been distant since the asteroid.   _Sweet guys don’t do well in the apocalypse._  Finn wasn’t doing well.

Raven was lost in her thoughts and didn’t hear Anya come back in.  She didn’t even see her until she was up on a step ladder she had found unscrewing another light fixture.

“I’m sorry,” Raven apologized.

“For what?”  Anya continued working without looking back.

“For ignoring you, for snapping,” Raven said.  She didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

“It’s okay, we’re all a little tense,” Anya pulled out the fixture.  “Where are we putting these?”

Raven shrugged.  “Why is the Watchtower locked up?”

“Security,” Anya said simply setting the fixture carefully on the ground.

“We’re the only people in here,” Raven said.

“Not everyone needs to be able to see everything,” Anya told her working on the next fixture.  “I had Monty cut the power on this row and the next one so you don’t get mad and shock yourself again.”

“I wasn’t mad,” Raven snapped.

“Whatever,” Anya went on unscrewing the fixtures.

\------

Lexa slipped out the kitchen door and flattened herself against the wall.  She examined the way across and made note of the placement of the back door.  She knew where the windows were on the neighboring house from looking out at the boy.  The fastest way was going to be to dart across in the shadow of the eaves.  She would have preferred her black BDUs for this, but she had gone with urban camo this morning and she was stuck with it.

She listened for any sound from the house next door.  Nothing, she took a deep breath and made the dash.  She pressed herself against the back of the unknown house and listened again.  She thought she heard crying, it was faint, hard to tell.  

She sidled up to the door and checked the knob.  It was unlocked, she gave it a gentle tug and it came open a crack.  She listened at the crack.  There was crying, it was faint and tapering off.  No one seemed to have noticed the cracked door.  She peeked in and saw a closed door ahead, the room looked clear from her vantage point.  She pulled open the door and slipped in, pulling the door to, but not latching it.  She kept her sidearm up, ready to fire as she put her back to the wall by the door leading further into the house.  The layout seemed to be pretty similar to Murphy’s house.  That would help.  She knew this door would lead into a kitchen that would offer a small amount of cover but would also pin her in if she took it.

“You mother fucker, I will rip off your head and shit down your skull!”  Someone was screaming.  A male, Lexa wondered what he was screaming about.  “Mother fucking n*****, after we get those girls you’re dead!”

And now she knew what the screaming was about.  Apparently, Miller decided to offer up a distraction and the man knew there were two women with him.  Miller had done well, actually.  Lexa would have to remember to thank him and start training him.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and opened the kitchen door.  Nothing, no shots, no sounds.  She peeked around the door frame.  The kitchen was empty.  She slipped in, leaving the door open, moving carefully to the doorway.  The man who held the gun to the boy’s head was no longer at that window.  Nor was the boy.  Lexa checked the hall, the crying was coming from down the hall.  It turned to screaming as Lexa considered her options.  A woman’s voice, screaming in fear.  Her decision made for her, she put her back to the wall and sidled down the hall to the open door the screaming was coming from.  

 

\-------------------------------------------TRIGGER WARNING ------------------------------------------------------

 

Lexa had only a second to take in the scene.  A woman, naked and tied to the bed, cuts and bruises over every inch of flesh.  The man from the window, standing over her with a knife to her throat and a gun pointing to something or someone obscured by the door.  She was reasonably sure it was the boy from the window.

“And there she is,” the man said cooly.  “I knew her screams would lure you back.”

Lexa aimed at his forehead.

“Uh uh, hero bitch, you shoot me and I kill them both,” he snarled.  Obviously proud of himself.  “Now come in here and put down your gun.”  Lexa listened.  Three people breathing, all labored from fear, one faster and shallower, that would be the boy.  Lexa stepped in the room and crouched to set her gun on the floor.

Everything happened so quickly that it was less than a second.  The man slit the woman’s throat.  She would bleed out in seconds, her jugular spurted blood in a fount.  It was probably for the best, nothing good had happened to her in that bed and even if Lexa could have saved her, she would have probably been damaged beyond anything they were capable of handling.  Lexa hated thinking that way, but the world had changed and survival was the most important thing.

Lexa pulled the knife from her boot and threw it into the man’s throat before he could bring his gun to bear on Lexa.  He slammed into the wall and fired into the ceiling.  

Lexa looked at the boy who was staring at the fount of blood coming from both the woman and the man.  “Is that all of them?”

The boy shook his head.

“Did you know her, before?”  Lexa asked.

He shook his head again.

 

\------------------------------------- END TRIGGER WARNING FOR NOW -------------------------------------------------------

 

“I need to know how many more there are,” Lexa didn’t want to step too close to the boy.  She’d seen men lose their lives stepping too close to a child on a battlefield.   

“Two more, they went over,” he said flatly.

Lexa nodded.  “Stay here.”  She left the room with her weapon up and the safety off.  Living room, clear.  Kitchen, clear.  Backroom, clear.  

The door was the way she left it, she slipped out and ran across to Murphy’s back door.  She stopped mid stride when the pup started barking, she looked and saw a man dragging Clarke across the front of the yard.  He hadn’t seen her.  Clarke was limp.

“Hey, fuckhead,” Lexa shouted.  The man looked, giving Lexa the shot she needed to put a bullet between his eyes.  One left.  She ran to Clarke and scooped her up, running back to the back of Murphy’s house.  She sat her against the wall and checked her pulse, then checked for injury.  A knot on the back of her head, nothing else she could see.  

She kissed Clarke’s forehead.  “Wake up, love.”

Clarke’s eyes fluttered.  “Hey.”

“Hey, I still have to get Miller,” Lexa told her.  “I’m going to get you to the car.”

Clarke nodded.  Lexa pulled her up.  “Stay in front of me, go straight to the car as fast as you can.”

“Okay,” Clarke nodded.  “I love you.”

“I love you,” Lexa replied.  

Clarke was nearly to the car when Lexa heard the gunshot and got the wind knocked out of her from behind.  She was lucky it wasn’t a very big gun, bullets rarely penetrate Kevlar, but they still hurt like hell.  She rolled and pointed her sidearm at the porch where a man was standing with Clarke’s pistol against Miller’s head, using Miller as a shield.  She needed a second to get her breath back, but she could see Miller silently telling her he was ready.  The porch was a few feet off the ground and he had Miller right at the edge of it.  She found her breath quickly.

“FALL,” she shouted and fired.  Miller pitched forward, dragging the man after him.  Lexa’s bullet took off the top of his skull.

By the time Lexa found her feet again, Miller had shaken off the dead man and was getting to his feet.  “Get Murphy’s stuff, get in the car,” she ordered.  She headed toward the neighbor's house again.  The pup barked at her, she kept her weapon ready, but she had to see about the boy.

The front door was unlocked, it was how they had gone after Clarke and Miller.  She stepped in, clearing the room and leaving the door open.  She checked the kitchen, for safety’s sake.   _Clear_.  She went down the hall, quickly and quietly.

 

\-------------------------------------------TRIGGER WARNING ------------------------------------------------------

 

The sight that greeted her through the open doorway was not one she would ever forget in this lifetime.  And not one that she would ever recount to anyone.  The boy had picked up one of the knives and was straddling the dead woman, flaying the skin off of her corpse with a wicked smile on his face.  He looked up and saw Lexa.  Knife in hand, he charged.

She shot him in the head.  Twice.  Lexa had seen horrible things, she had done horrible things.  She had never vomited at a scene before that day.  

 

\-------------------------------------------END TRIGGER WARNING --------------------------------------------------

 

On the way out, she found a lighter on a table.  She picked it up and held it to one of the living room curtains until it caught.

Clarke and Miller were in the car with the pup who was watching for her.  She got in and didn’t say a word.  Clarke didn’t ask.  She held out a hand and Lexa took it giving it a squeeze.  She wasn’t okay, but there was a time and a place and this was neither.

“Did- did you… did you set the house on fire?”  Miller stammered.

“Yes,” Lexa put the car in drive and followed the GPS to Harper’s house. **  
**

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am seriously messed up. I wouldn't blame anyone for bailing on me after this.
> 
> Evil Louie - Deep Purple


	11. Creep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tacked on a bit at the end that was originally included at the beginning of the next chapter. It screwed up the tone of the whole chapter this one is already pretty fucked up so it's still disturbing, but it just goes with the theme.

When they reached Harper’s house, Lexa opened the back door and let the pup hop out.  She looked at him seriously, “You stay close and you obey.”  The pup wagged at her with his most serious husky expression.

Whether it was Harper’s residence being in a more affluent neighborhood or luck of the draw, they didn’t know.  But her door had already been kicked down and food and valuables removed.  Lexa cleared each room before she would allow Miller and Clarke to get more than two steps in the front door.  The pup stayed at her heal sniffing and alert.

They quickly packed up Harper’s clothes and requested belongings.  The pup stayed in the doorway watching everything.  They left without incident.

 

Miller’s apartment was on the second floor.  Lexa had security concerns, the pup did not, he peed on things.  Claiming the whole world for himself.  Lexa rolled her eyes at him as he stopped to mark the base of the stairs, then again at the top of the stairs.

“You’re killing me, Teddy,” Lexa mumbled.  The husky looked at her and wagged.

“Teddy?”  Clarke asked.

“Roosevelt.  Badass, malcontent, kind of a jackass,” Lexa shrugged.

Miller collected his belongings while Clarke and Lexa stuffed clothes into a duffle.

****

After the morning's events, Lexa really wanted to pack it in and call it a day, but there were still a few things she needed to do and time was running out.  They were passing a strip mall when Clarke reached over and squeezed her thigh.

“Pull in there, babe,” Clarke nudged.

Lexa gave the signs a quick once over and saw what had gotten Clarke’s attention.  Further down, she saw an electronics hobby shop and a book store, both would cover her tasks.  She drove around to the back of the buildings and stopped behind the music store.  She flipped off the main power and shot open the lock, leaving Miller outside with Teddy and leading Clarke in, sidearm at the ready.

“Hey Miller, you play anything?”  Clarke asked before going into the front of the store.

“I played jazz clarinet in high school,” he replied.

Clarke shifted her course from heading onto the sales floor to a shelf of small instrument cases and opened them until she found a nice wooden b flat clarinet.  “How hard do you like your reeds?”  She asked.

“Threes,” he looked at her curiously.

“I played clarinet in middle school,” she shrugged and headed into the main part of the building.

Lexa was looking at all of the various instruments and stands as if she’s forgotten something.  

“Lex,” Clarke stands next to her holding a small box packed full of guitar strings and boxes of reeds and the clarinet case.  “What do you need?”

“There’s a grand piano in the bunker,” Lexa sounds far away.

“There is,” Clarke agreed. “To be honest, I’m still not sure how he got in in there.”

Lexa cocked her head and looked at Clarke, “Neither am I.”  Her eyes found the wall of sheet music.  “I used to play.”

“Ah, well, now we have a jazz trio,” Clarke kissed her cheek and stepped over to the wall and began to stock up on sheet music.

****

Next they moved over to the electronics hobby shop where Lexa searched the back room filling a medium sized box with walkie talkies, headsets, chargers, and replacement batteries.  She opened a large box and saw that it was a case of six camera drones and passed them to Miller.  He nodded and found a place for them in the Outback.

She dumped out a box of RC trucks and refilled it from the computer and radio components wall.  Hundreds of tiny pieces dropped into the box.  She grabbed a soldering iron and spools of solder as well.  When she saw Clarke’s questioning look, “Transistors burn out.  I might not know what this stuff does, but I’m willing to bet Raven and Monty do.”

Clarke nodded.

****

They went to the bookstore next.  After clearing the building, which took several minutes and required Clarke’s assistance, Lexa moved to the home and garden section and started grabbing books on how to grow, how to build, and how to fix everything she thought might be useful.  Clarke piled up fiction for entertainment.

****

“This is our last trip out, isn’t it?”  Clarke asked as they finished packing everything into the car.

“I think so,” Lexa said distantly.

****

When they got back to the bunker, Anya’s truck was still gone.  Bo, Anya, Octavia, Harper, and Murphy were waiting for them in the cavern to help unload.  

Bo whipped Anya with her tail when Clarke opened the door and got out.  “Hey, sweet girl,”  Clarke scratched the pibble behind the ear.

“Why is there a box of kids books and plushies in here?”  Octavia asked.

“The plushies are for the dogs,” Clarke replied.  “As for the books, I just couldn’t stand for _Where the Wild Things Are_ to be lost forever.  Then I just took all of my favorites from when I was a kid.”

Octavia sighed, the enormity of what Clarke was trying to do settling on her.  Teddy stuck his head in the box and grabbed a plush dinosaur before following behind Lexa.

Lexa took the walkie talkies in to Monty along with the drones and component parts.  

“Sweet, it’s geek Christmas!”  He grinned.

“Start those charging,” Lexa indicated the walkies.  “We’ll distribute them later.  I want to be able to communicate without the whole room hearing what you see.  What’s he been up to since we left?”

“He checked yours and Linc’s doors earlier, I can’t imagine what he thinks he’ll find in there,” Monty told her.  “I would have let him in if I had access to those cameras just to see what he was after.  He went into his and Raven’s room and stayed until Octavia called him to help with lunch clean up.  He’s been working with Raven next door since then.”

Lexa nodded.  She wanted to know what he wanted in her room, too.  But before she found out, she needed to secure some weapons.  Of course, that may be what he was looking for.  She spotted Anya still in the cavern unloading and opened that channel.  “Hey, Ahn, bring the guns to the armory.”

“Wait, what’s Raven working on next door?”  Lexa looked at that monitor.

“She told Anya that Jasper asked her to put up more grow lights before he left with Lincoln and Bell,” Monty answered.

“We’re making beer,” she told him.

“No wonder Jas was so excited,” Monty grinned.  “We’ll need to grow hops and more grains.”  

A low beep sounded.  Monty brought up the perimeter cameras.  “The guys are back.”  Anya’s truck was pulling the horse trailer.  It looked pretty loaded down.

****

They had cleaned out a homebrew supply warehouse.  They had originally intended to go tear out what they needed from a local craft brewery, and decided that ten smaller fermenters and kettles was better than one big one.  There were burners, kegs, bottles, and barrels of ingredients.  There were even two refrigerators.

Then they had been to the hardware store to get hoses, splitters, and piping so they could run water and beer from place to place.

“Where does all of this go?”  Bellamy asked carrying a fermenter.

“The other empty room by the Watchtower,” Jasper said then looked at Lexa.  “If that’s okay.  I kind of have Raven prepping the other one for growing grains.”

“I’ve heard.  It’s fine,” Lexa told him.  “But the beer better be good.”

“Maybe not the first batch,” Jasper replied.  “Monty said my degree in horticulture was stupid.  Ha, I showed him!”

“ _You just went to Gainesville to party and threw a dart at a course catalog one night while high_ ,” Monty’s voice came from overhead.

“Further proof that it was fate, Monty,” Jasper pointed at the camera he knew was there.

Everything was unloaded.  Lincoln had made a few other stops beyond the beer supplies.  All of the guys were in the brew room washing and setting up equipment, very excited at the prospect of making their own beer.  They had run a hose down the hall from the bathroom next to the infirmary.  Raven and Anya were finishing up the new fixtures in the grain room.  Jasper had left piles of boxes and bags in there for when they were done installing the lights.

****

Lexa collected a charged walkie from Monty and headed outside, Teddy at her heels as usual.  She had found a nice rock to sit on and watch the sunset when Bo found her, followed by Clarke.  Teddy wagged happily and rolled in the dirt.

“You want to talk about it,” Clarke sat down and put a hand on Lexa’s thigh.

“No,” Lexa told her.  “Trying to stuff it into a compartment and never think about it again.”

“Okay,” Clarke told her.  “I’m here.  Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you getting shot in the back earlier.  I’m going to want to look at that.”

“I know,” Lexa softened slightly.  “How’s your head?”

“Fine, I don’t know what happened.  I heard screaming, then a gunshot, then everything went dark,” the doctor recounted.

“I think they snuck in the front door and knocked you out.  Miller said you were already knocked out when he came back from Murphy’s room with the bag and they were there with guns,” Lexa took Clarke’s hand and threaded their finger together.  “I should have stayed with you.”

“I don’t know what happened over there, but if we had just left, you would have always worried about that kid,” Clarke said.

Lexa shuddered at the mention of the boy.  “No one has to worry about him, now.”

Clarke looked at the horizon where the sun had dipped low.  The pinks and purples fading into darkness.  “We’ve only got a few of these left.”

“I like watching them with you,” Lexa admitted.

“I like watching them with you, too.”

Teddy groaned.

“I didn’t ask your opinion,” Lexa snarked.  “Go chase a squirrel or something.”  Teddy just rolled in the dirt some more.

“I think there something wrong with your dog, Lex,” Clarke giggled.

“He’s defective,” Lexa deadpanned.  Teddy groaned again lying on his back with his tongue flopping out of his mouth.  

Clarke rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder.

They sat there quietly for several minutes before Bo shifted position and Teddy sat up and looked back at the cave.

“ _Hey Lexa_ ,” Monty’s voice crackled in her ear.  She had a feeling what he was going to say next.

“Go ahead,” Lexa pushed the talk button on the wire leading from her ear piece to the walkie talkie.

“ _He’s at the mouth of the cave, watching_ ,” Monty advised.

“Roger that,” Lexa replied into the mic.

“Do I get a headset?” Clarke asked.

“Yes,” Lexa smiled at her.  “I wanted to test the range tonight.  Monty said Finn’s at the mouth of the cave watching us.”

“I think we should have a quiet dinner alone in our room again tonight,” Clarke suggested.  “We had a bad day and I really don’t feel like being stared at.”

Lexa nodded.  “I think I’m going to go down and get us a bottle of wine… or two.”  Lexa stood slowly, giving Finn time to flee somewhere out of sight.

“I think one will be fine,” Clarke stood.  “After dinner, I’ll run you a bath.  If you need a sedative I can give you something.”

“Thank you,” Lexa held out her hand for Clarke to take.

“For what?”  Clarke took the proffered hand.

“For not asking,” Lexa gave it a squeeze and tugged her in for a hug.

“If it was bad enough that my big bad Ranger had that expression, I can trust that I’m better off not knowing,” the doctor said into Lexa’s neck as they held each other tightly.

“The words ‘I love you’ don’t seem strong enough,” Lexa whispered.

“I know what you mean,” Clarke kissed her neck.

****

Back in the caverns, Clarke stopped to scratch the Clydesdales.  “They’re beautiful,” Lexa said, hesitant to touch them.

“Lex,” Clarke stopped scratching and got a gentle nuzzle for her lack of attention.  “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

“Never had the opportunity,” Lexa admitted.

“Tomorrow, you’re getting a riding lesson,” Clarke tugged Lexa into the cave leading to the pantry.  They separated in the pantry and Lexa went down to the greenhouse and wine cellar.

Finn was in the kitchen at the sink, Octavia kept him on dish duty, Clarke wasn’t sure if Octavia had noticed his stalker behavior or if she just didn’t trust him to prepare food.  She would have to ask sometime.  Clarke stepped close to Octavia, “We’re going to eat in our room again tonight.  It was a really bad day, I'm going to run pick up some sedatives.”

Finn rushed up at her and started trying to touch her, “Clarke, are you okay?  Miller said you were attacked.”

She managed to dodge his grabby hands, but only just.  “I’m fine.”

Finn didn’t seem to register her disgust or her avoidance.  He continued to try to touch her, “I was so worried.  You shouldn’t go out there.  The news says it’s very dangerous.”

Clarke was practically dancing to stay away from his touchy feely hands and zigged when she should have zagged and Finn ended up with a handful of her breast.  Instead of removing it instantly with profuse apologies, he stared at it and even gave it an experimental squeeze before Clarke could pull away.  “What the fuck is wrong with you?”  She snarled.  “Don’t fucking touch me!”

Clarke rushed toward the infirmary.  

Monty was waiting in the doorway of the Watchtower.  “You okay?” He stepped aside to let her in and close the door.

“Yeah,” Clarke wasn’t really, not even a little bit.  “He creeps me out.  Just being in the room with him is kind of skeevy.  I don’t know what Raven sees in him.”

“Nothing lately,” Monty told her.  “He wasn’t like that on the ride here.  He was polite and funny, honestly, I thought he was kind of cool.  Since we got here, they’re super awkward together in common areas.”

Clarke’s eyes were scanning the monitors.  She smiled when her eyes found Lexa in the greenhouse talking to Jasper and holding a bottle of wine.

“You’re gross,” Monty sighed.

“Yeah, whatever,” Clarke picked up a walkie talkie.  “What channel is she on?”

“Five.”

“Hey Sergeant Sexy,” Clarke said into the walkie.

She saw Lexa smile in the greenhouse before pushing the talk button.  “Hello, Clarke.  Did you need me to come up right away?”

Clarke had learned to appreciate the more formal way Lexa spoke to hear when others could hear.  “I always need you, but don’t rush.  I’m with Monty in the Watchtower.”

Lexa smirked up at the camera.  “I’ll be up in a little bit.”  Clarke could see Jasper rolling his eyes.

“You two are so gross,” Monty said.  “I mean, I’m gay, but you two are like unicorn riding, rainbow pooping, super gay.”

Clarke shrugged, “I’m okay with that.”  She searched the screens again.  “I need to run to the infirmary.”

“He’s still in the kitchen with Octavia,” Monty pointed to the correct screen.  “I’ll let you know if he moves.”  He handed her an earpiece for the walkie talkie she was still holding.

Clarke put in the earpiece and hooked the walkie onto the waistband of the black BDU pants she was still wearing.  She slipped out of the Watchtower and walked down the hall toward the infirmary.  The door to the new grow room was open and Raven and Anya were continuing their verbal sparring match.

“You two have got to stop arguing and just fuck this out,” Clarke said as she passed by.

“Clarke!”  Raven shouted scandalized.

“I’ve offered,” Anya called back.

Clarke collected the items she went to the infirmary for and returned to the security of the Watchtower.

Monty had pushed a pad and paper over to where she liked to sit.  She told Monty about their trip out while doodling Monty as Martian Manhunter and Lexa as Super(wo)man.

“Does that make you Lois Lane?”  Lexa said over her shoulder.  Clarke had been so immersed in her drawing that she hadn’t heard her girlfriend enter the Watchtower.

“Hey,” Clarke spun around pulling Lexa into her lap.  “Something happened.”

The smirk slipped off Lexa’s face.  “What did he do?”

“He got handsy and accidentally grabbed my tit...”  Lexa was halfway up before Clarke managed to get hold of her.  “If I finish, you’re going to kill him.”

“If you don’t finish she’s going to kill him,” Monty pointed out.

“It was an accident,” Clarke stressed.

“The touch was an accident, that squeeze was on purpose,” Monty was not helpful.

“He squeezed?”  She looked at Clarke.

Clarke nodded.  “Babe, you can’t kill him because I’ll feel guilty.”

“Have you lead him on?” Lexa asked.

“No, of course not,” Clarke said.

“Have you indicated to him in any way that you are interested in his attentions?”  Lexa asked.

“You know I haven’t,” Clarke answered, angry.

“Then none of this is your fault, Clarke,” Lexa’s voice was firm.  “He’s stalking you and now he’s grabbing you.  I know he makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to feel bad about wanting him gone.”

“If we throw him out he’ll die!”  Clarke argued.

“If he stays here it’s bad for your mental health,” Lexa said softly.  “I care way more about your mental health than I do about his life.”

“I can’t be the reason someone else dies, Lexa,”  Clarke teared up.  “There are thousands of people I left out there to die because I couldn’t decide who to bring here.”

“You brought Raven, Monty, Jasper, Harper, Murphy, Octavia, and Bellamy.  Every one of them will be an integral part of our continued survival,” Lexa held her face.  “You saved all of them, love.  You don’t have to be miserable for one life.  If we toss him now, he’ll still have time to get to another shelter.”

“I can’t, Lex,” Clarke said through tears.  “I can’t be the one to execute him.”

“Okay, love,” Lexa held her tight.  “Okay.”

Lexa held her until she stopped crying.  Monty pretended he couldn’t see or hear a thing, he really was the perfect person to man the Watchtower.

Once Lexa had kissed away the last of Clarke’s tears, Lexa stood and offered Clarke a hand.  Clarke took it and stood, she stopped and kissed the top of Monty’s head before walking out of the Watchtower with her love.

In the kitchen Clarke stopped to see Octavia and Lexa took the moment to grab Finn and drag him into the pantry, slamming him against the wall.  He cried out in surprise and pain as Lexa pinned him to the wall.  “If you ever touch Clarke again, I will take your hands off.  Do you understand me?”

He nodded, finding it difficult to breathe.

“If you keep stalking her, I will pop out your eyes with my fingers.  Do you understand me?”  She said softly into his ear.

He nodded again.

“The only reason I’m not kicking your creepy ass out of my bunker is because she doesn’t want to be responsible for your death.  Stay away from her,” Lexa’s voice was low and terrifying.   Even at that, Lexa was surprised to see wetness spreading across the front of his pants as she stepped back.   “Go clean yourself before you touch anything.”

****

In the kitchen Octavia watched Lexa grab Finn.  “It’s about time she decided to do something about that.”

“You’ve seen it too?”  Clarke asked.

“He grabbed your tit, Clarke.  He’s been creepy as fuck since he got here,” Octavia told her making two plates of food.  “I’d have kicked him out already.”

“I can’t sentence him to die, O,” Clarke reiterated, she wondered how many times she was going to have to say that.

Octavia looked at her like she wanted to argue the point but Lexa swaggered out of the pantry looking very satisfied with herself.  Octavia held out the two plates she had prepped.  Clarke took them and Lexa grabbed two wine glasses before following the doctor out of the kitchen and to their room followed by Bo and Teddy.

 

Raven turned the last bulb into place as Anya picked up the tools and returned them to the correct tool boxes.  Raven was very particular about how she organized her tools, Anya had caught on to the system quickly.  It bothered Raven that Anya seemed to get her on some base level that no one had ever quite managed before.  And by bothered, she meant hot and bothered.  She needed to escape those surprisingly warm brown eyes and that sexy smirk.

“I’m starving,” Anya spoke up.  “Did we miss dinner?”

“O will have saved us plates if we did,” Raven told her as she stepped off the ladder.  They lived together in college, Octavia was well aware of Raven’s habit of working through meals and would always leave her something in the fridge when she finally came out of her mechanical daze.  

Anya carried two tool boxes while Raven carried the ladder and a smaller tool box back to the storage room.  Raven couldn’t help being attracted to the tall wiry woman who had been her work companion for the last few days.  Anya was beautiful in a terrifying sort of way.  Maybe it was only terrifying to Raven because she desperately wanted to taste those soft pink lips, wanted to know what they felt like against her skin.

They wandered to the kitchen where Octavia was putting away the last clean pan and Lincoln was coming back in from outside with the dogs.

“Hey,” Octavia said pleasantly surprised to see Raven finished working before she had gone to bed.  Lincoln pulled two plates out of the oven where they had been warming.

“Hey,” Raven was pulled from her thoughts on Anya.

“We were just about to head to bed, just put your dishes in the sink for in the morning,” Octavia smoothed a hand over Raven’s back.  She seemed to be offering comfort, but Raven had no idea why.  Octavia and Lincoln said their good night's and headed to their room.

Anya pulled a couple of beers from the fridge and they sat at the smaller kitchen table to eat.  Raven stared at her plate, trying not to be distracted by Anya’s lithe form.

“Listen, Raven, I know I give you a lot of shit, but you’re a really brilliant mechanical engineer,” Anya said sincerely.

“Don’t say things like that to me,” Raven bristled.

“You don’t want me to say nice things to you?”  Anya raised a cocky eyebrow.

“No,” Raven grumbled.

“Whatever you say, grease monkey,” Anya finished her meal in silence.  Placing her empty plate in the sink and carrying the rest of her beer off to her room.

Raven had barely touched her food.  She covered the plate and stuffed it in the refrigerator, downing the beer quickly before heading to her room.  She pretended her step didn’t slow as she passed Anya’s door.  

She opened her own door to see Finn sitting on the loveseat in nothing but his boxers.  Several empty beer bottles rested on the coffee table.  Raven looked hard at her half drunk boyfriend, he would do.  She closed the door behind her and began to strip off her clothes.  Standing bare before Finn.  His glazed eyes never quite seemed to focus on her.  She bent down and took one of his hands, pulling him to his feet where he swayed slightly.

Finn wasn’t taking the end of the world well, maybe a nice hard fuck would bring him back to her.  Maybe a nice hard fuck would bring her back to him.  She tugged him over toward the bed before pushing his boxers down.  He was already starting to get hard.  Raven trailed her fingers down his abdomen and down his member before wrapping her fingers around it and giving it a gentle stroke.  His eyes were unfocused but he was grinning.  

When he was hard enough, she scooted back on the bed and pulled him with her, “Fuck me, Finn.  Fuck me hard.”

His eyes still out of focus, he positioned himself on top of her, palming his now rock solid cock and shoving it hard into Raven.  She wasn’t quite ready for that kind of force, but he was obviously drunk and she just wanted to be fucked hard enough to forget those warm brown eyes and sculpted cheekbones.  She didn’t complain, she angled her hips to give herself the most pleasure while he pumped his dick into her.  She was secretly thrilled that he didn’t try to kiss her.  She was a still a little disappointed, though.  Finn was usually an attentive lover, making sure she was ready, getting her almost to orgasm before he would push into her so he could give her multiples while he fucked her until he came.  

She wanted to cum and knew Finn wouldn’t last as long as she needed him to, she slipped a hand between them and rubbed her own clit, thinking of a different pair of brown eyes,  Brown eyes laser focused on her instead of unfocused and distant.  Finn came hard with a moan and collapsed on her, making it hard for her to finishing rubbing one out on her own clit.  She grunted as she came, trying to push Anya’s face from her mind. **  
**

 

After eating, Clarke stripped Lexa to look at the damage done to her back.  There was a large bruise under still healing skin.  They took a long hot bath together and curled up on their loveseat in pajamas afterwards.  

Lincoln knocked on the connecting door sometime later, “Anybody need to go out and potty before bed?”

“I’m good,” Lexa smirked.

Teddy and Bo stretched and trotted up to Linc wagging.

 

A few minutes later the two dogs returned followed by Linc.  "We're locked down for the night." He sat down on the arm of the loveseat.  "So, you made Finn piss himself."

"You did?"  Clarke's reaction was hard to read.

"I didn't hurt him, he's just weak," Lexa shrugged.

"Lex, you're a highly trained soldier, everyone is weak compared to you," Clarke said.

Lincoln cleared his throat.

"Present company excluded," she amended.

"I would have done a whole lot worse if it was Octavia he was obsessing over," Lincoln admitted.  "If it keeps up, he can't stay here."

"If it keeps up," Lexa said.

"Ok," Clarke agreed.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Radiohead - Creep


	12. Eve of Destruction

**May 23, 2017**

Lexa woke up before Clarke.  The clock by her bed told her it was a little after five in the morning.  She hadn’t been for a run since… it took her a few seconds, she hadn’t been for a run since she first spent the night with the sleeping woman beside her.  Maybe a run would help her clear her head from yesterday.

Yeah, a run would be just the thing.  She slipped out of bed and pulled on running gear before moving out of the room.  She grabbed her walkie and headset before ushering the dogs out of the room.  She checked the door behind her, ensuring it was locked.

“Hey,” a low whisper came from down the hall.  Lincoln was up, getting ready to go for a run himself.  “Want some company?”

Lexa nodded.  They made their way out of the bunker and into the cool early morning air.  “You haven’t been running.  Clarke keeping you too worn out?”

Lexa smiled and began stretching.  “You know I don’t kiss and tell.”

“That’s a yes,” Lincoln teased.

“Octavia not managing to wear you out?”  Lexa fired back.

Lincoln smiled dopily as he stretched.  

“Do I look that stupid when I think about Clarke?”  Lexa finished her stretches and whistled for the dogs to stay with her.

“Yes,” Linc shook out his arms and legs.  “You ready?”

“Let’s go,” they ran up to the peak and down to the perimeter on the other side.  They came across the cave where the wind turbines were stored before turning and running around the front perimeter.  This was clearly a route Lincoln had run every morning.  They stayed side by side as they ran, not talking but communicating in the silent way that only two people who’ve been friends since childhood can.  Bo stayed at Lincoln’s side.  Teddy ran ahead, sniffed, peed, doubled back, sniffed, peed, and so on.

When they came back around to the cavern leading into the bunker they slowed and began a cool down walk.  “What are you going to do about Finn?”

“I’m going to keep a close eye on him and make sure Clarke’s never alone with him,” Lexa took deep breaths.  “He’s not bothering Octavia?”

“Only in that it bothers her that he’s so obviously stalking Clarke,” Lincoln told her.  “She seems to be the only object of his obsession.”

“Maybe last night will have shook him up enough to stop,” Lexa said breaths more even as she started to stretch again.

“That’s pretty unlikely, Lex,” Lincoln joined her in stretching.  “It's more probable that you made it worse.  He’ll sneak around more.”

“It’s hard to sneak around when there are eyes everywhere,” Lexa told him pointing at a camera in a tree.

“Then you need to get someone else in the Watchtower when Monty sleeps,” Lincoln sat down on the rock she sat on with Clarke the day before.  The sun had barely began to creep up.

“I was thinking about Murphy.  Monty can teach him how the system works, then he won’t feel so useless because he can’t work,” Lexa sat beside him.

“That’s a good idea,” Linc agreed.

“I know,” Lexa nodded cockily.

“Come on, you can collect the eggs while I milk the cow,” Lincoln stood up.

“I’m a warrior Linc,” Lexa followed him in.  “I don’t know how I feel about being a farmer.”

****

After Lexa had conquered the chickens, it had been a very unpleasant experience, she went to wake Clarke for breakfast.  Seeing her asleep so peacefully in their bed, Lexa stopped to take in her beautiful girlfriend.  Blonde waves tousled by sleep, perfectly placed beauty mark, chin dimple, the corners of her lips upturned in a sleepy grin.

“You’re staring at me,” Clarke’s husky sleepy voice did things to Lexa. 

“I am,” Lexa husked back.

Clarke opened her eyes and saw sweaty, post run Lexa and quickly got on the same page.  She reached up and pulled the Ranger down to smash their lips together.  That morning, they made love like two people who knew exactly how lucky they were to be alive and have each other.

****

After a few orgasms and showers to wash away the scent of sweat and girl sex, Lexa set off to find Murphy and give him his new job assignment.  

Clarke stopped to check in on Miller’s wound before finding Harper in the  infirmary reading a textbook.  “Hey,” Clarke greeted.

“Hey,” Harper looked up from the book.

“Studying neuroscience?”  Clarke unlocked the medicine cabinet and replaced the sedatives she had gotten the night before.  The bottle of wine had been sufficient to give Lexa a dreamless sleep.

“I’m afraid if I don’t study up constantly, I might lose it from lack of use,” Harper confessed.

“I can understand that,” Clarke nodded. “We can ask Lexa to make everyone submit to a physical, that’ll give us something to do.”

“Everyone who hasn’t been shot or undergone major surgery in the last month seems to be in pretty good health,” Harper sighed.  “How are Lexa’s injuries healing?”

“Well enough to take a bullet in the back of her Kevlar vest yesterday,” Clarke told her arranging the meds again. 

“Miller said it was a scary day,” Harper acknowledged.  “I really appreciate you guys getting my stuff.  It feels so good to wear my own clothes.”

“Did you get a chance to check Murphy over before Lexa rolled him off to the Watchtower?”  Clarke asked suddenly.

“Yeah, he’s good.  He’s got full feeling in his toes and he says his pain gets a little less everyday,” Harper told her. “He might be pain free by the time he heals up.”

“Great!  Thanks for that, Harper,” Clarke said sincerely.

“It’s what I do,” she shrugged.

****

Lexa had stayed with Monty and Murphy long enough for Murphy to get comfortable with his new position before Miller knocked on the Watchtower door and declared himself released for light duty.  He wasn’t sure what that meant, but Lexa assured him she did.

She led him out of the Watchtower and down into the greenhouse.  Jasper was already up and at work.  “How late did you stay up fiddling with those boilers?”

“Late,” Jasper’s eyes were a little bleary.  “I’m headed up to start setting up the new room in just a minute.  Morning, Nate,” Jasper acknowledged Miller.

“He’s going to work with you for a few days to help you get set up,” Lexa told them.  “He’s on light duty so no heavy lifting, nothing over five to ten pounds.  He should still be able to move your trays and troughs around.”

“Thanks, Lexa, I could really use the extra hands,” Jasper checked the nutrient levels.

“ _ Hey, Sergeant Sexy _ ,” Clarke’s voice purred in her ear.

“Hello Clarke,” she grinned.

“ _ Come have breakfast with me _ ,” she could hear the smile in Clarke’s voice.

“I’ll be right up,” Lexa thumbed the talk button.  “You guys have fun.”

****

After breakfast they found themselves in the horse paddock.  Clarke was showing Lexa how to saddle the huge horses.

“Don’t be afraid of them, they’ll know,” Clarke reiterated as she handed Lexa a saddle and grabbed a blanket to spread on the horse’s back.

Lexa placed the saddle on the horse’s back like Clarke had shown her.  Then bent under to grab the girth strap to secure it with the tie strap.  Clarke double checked it before pronouncing it secure.  She handed over the bridle, “You got this?”

“I can handle putting a bridle on a horse,” Lexa smirked.  She put the reins over the horse’s head, then tried to remember how Clarke had gotten the Clydesdale to open up and take the bit.  Lexa held the bit in front of the horse’s lips and hoped he felt cooperative.  Luckily for her, he did.

“Good job, Sergeant Sexy,” Clarke kissed Lexa on the cheek.  “Always mount from the left…”  Clarke trailed off when Lexa smirked at her.  The doctor chuckled, “You’re such a child.”  There was a few minutes of kissing before Clarke got them back on track.  “Okay, left side, left foot.”

Lexa put her left foot in the left stirrup and pushed herself up, swinging her right leg over like Clarke had shown her earlier.  “I’m feeling very tall.”

“Hey,” Lincoln called coming into the cave with a hunting rifle and a crossbow.  “Take these in case you need them.  Monty said the deer were pretty thick today.”  

“I don’t know how to shoot a crossbow, Linc,” Lexa said taking the odd contraption.

“Then learn,” he had a quiver of bolts slung over his shoulder and handed it up to her.  He and Clarke strapped the rifle to Clarke’s horse.  Both women had sidearm’s in case of trouble.

Clarke mounted her horse, the Clydesdale was a little higher than what she was used to but she managed.  Clarke clicked her tongue and her mount began to meander in the direction she pulled the reins.  Lexa’s horse followed after them.  Clarke led them out of the caves and out into the forest.  She went slowly at first letting Lexa get used to being on a mode of transportation that could think for itself.  They rode out to the property line and followed it around.  They had been out for two hours when they came upon a stream, Clarke dismounted and led her horse to the water, Lexa followed suit.

“Hey Monty, can you see us?”  Lexa said into her headset mic.

His reply was crackly, “ _ I don’t have a visual, but I can see your position within the perimeter _ .” 

“Roger, that,” Lexa said before taking Clarke into her arms and kissing her deeply.

“How long have you been saving that up?” Clarke smiled when they pulled apart.

“Since I left you in the shower this morning,” Lexa kissed her again.  Clarke’s hands found the crossbow slung across the Ranger’s back and pulled back.

“You want to try this out?”  Clarke tugged on the weapon.  

“I can think of other stuff I’d like to do,” Lexa smirked.

“I’d rather not get lyme disease in the apocalypse,” Clarke kissed her cheek.

“I guess that’s reasonable,” Lexa lifted the weapon over her head and looked it over.  She was good with weapons so it only took her a few seconds to get it loaded and ready to fire.  She aimed at a trunk about fifty yards away and fired. 

_ THUNK! _

“I kind of like that,” Lexa reloaded and handed the weapon to Clarke before stepping back.  “Pull the trigger when you’re ready.”

_ THUNK! _

Clarke had selected a closer target, not as confident in her aim as Lexa was.  “That was kind of nice,” Clarke agreed.  “How many of those do we have in the armory?”

“A few,” Lexa took the weapon back and climbed a tree.  She was looking around for signs of life around the mountain when she heard an electronic whir.  She drew her sidearm and aimed at the drone she spotted coming in over the treetops.

“ _ Whoa, Commander _ ,” Monty’s voice crackled in her ear.  “ _ It’s just me _ .”

“Are you still in the Watchtower?”  Lexa worked her way down the tree.  Clarke had retrieved the crossbow bolts and taken a snack out of her saddlebag.

“Monty?” She pointed at the drone.

“Yeah,” Lexa said.  “Even in the apocalypse, there’s no privacy.”

“ _ I can hear you, you know _ ,” Monty said in her earpiece.

“Why do you think I said it,” Lexa smirked.  “Unless you found some deer for me to hunt, fly that thing back to the bunker.”

“ _ I’m not great with soldier talk, but about a klick south southwest from your position you should find a pretty big buck _ ,” Monty told her.

“Roger that,” Lexa mounted her Clydesdale like she had been doing it for years.  The drone headed back the way it came.

“Look at you being comfortable on a horse,” Clarke smiled.  “You look even more badass than usual.”

Lexa smirked and clicked to get her ride moving.  Clarke mounted up and followed.

  
Lexa checked their position a few times to be sure she was where Monty told her to find the buck.  She dismounted and began looking for signs to track the deer.  She found fresh tracks and began to follow them.  Clarke caught the reins of her horse and rode along behind her.  Fifty or so yards along Lexa held up her hand to tell the doctor to stop.

Clarke watched as Lexa lifted the crossbow from it’s position on her back and loaded it.  The doctor focused her eyes in the direction Lexa was aiming and spotted the large buck another sixty yards away.  Lexa took her time before pulling the trigger.  Clarke saw the moment the bolt entered the buck’s side and into it’s heart.  It only took a couple of steps before falling.  The Ranger slid the crossbow back over her shoulder and ran for the fallen buck.  Clarke rode after her, still guiding Lexa’s mount. 

“I hate to point out the obvious problem, but how did you plan to get that big fella back to the bunker?”  Clarke asked.

“I’m going to need your help,” Lexa told her.  

It took a little work but they managed to lift the buck onto the back of Lexa’s mount and tied it down with some rope from Clarke’s saddlebag.

Lexa pulled the horse’s lead and started walking.

“What are you doing?” Clarke called after her.

“Going back to the bunker,” Lexa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Get up here, there’s room for two,” Clarke chuckled.

****

When they got back to the bunker, Lincoln was waiting for them with a few clean five gallon buckets.  Between he and Lexa they managed to get the deer hung up in a tree to drain the blood into one of the buckets before cleaning and butchering it.  Clarke stayed to help, being the only one present to have any experience with internal organs.

“Try to save the organs for dog food,” Lincoln suggested.

Clarke nodded and sliced into the animal’s abdomen with Lexa’s knife.  Entrails burst out, hitting her in the face and chest.

Lincoln laughed.  Lexa rushed to get the waste filled intestines off of her girlfriend.

“That is so gross,” Clarke groaned.

“You’re a doctor, Clarke,” Lincoln laughed.

“A human doctor, not a veterinary surgeon,” Clarke scowled.  Carefully she and Lexa removed the intestines without puncturing them and tossing them away from the entrance of the cave.  She cut out the other internal organs and piled them in the bucket with the blood.     
“That’s going to smell awful, we should probably boil it out here before grinding it into dog chow.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lincoln collected wood for a fire and had a good sized campfire going in the few minutes it took for Lexa to start making cuts to skin the deer.

Octavia appeared outside carrying the cast iron pot Lexa had bought only a few days ago.  Clarke stopped peeling the skin off the buck and went to sit down on the rock.  Lexa sat down her knife and walked after Clarke.

“Clarke,” Clarke loved how Lexa always clicked the k in her name.  “Are you okay?”

“It just kind of hit me,” Clarke told her.

“The deer?”  Lexa asked trying to understand.

“No, we have to eat, better that we eat them than let them starve to death,” Clarke said.  “No, it was the cast iron pot.  You only bought it a few days ago, everything has happened so fast.”

Her normally strong and stoic Lexa looked small and unsure.  

“Not you, Lex,” Clarke soothed.  “Not us.  Even if the apocalypse hadn’t come, we would probably be U-Hauling at the Olympic level.”

Lexa chuckled.  “The first moment I saw you, I felt like I was home.”

“Me, too,” Clarke gave her a watery smile.  “Everyone and everything will be gone in a few days and I just … All of the things I’ll never do again, all of the places we’ll never go to together.”

“I didn’t even have time to make a list of the places I wanted to see with you,” Lexa told her.  “Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up.  Linc and Octavia can finish up here.”

Lincoln waved them on as Lexa pulled Clarke up and wrapped an arm around her.  Both were covered in deer gore and resembled murder victims.  

“Do you have any idea how much I love you?”  Clarke whispered tearing up.

“I hope it’s at least as much as I love you,” Lexa smiled.

“I’m sorry that I won’t be able to go to more galleries with you,” tears threatened to fall.

“You can paint me masterpieces, my love.  And I will love them as much as I love the one over our bed,” Lexa whispered to her walking through the cavern.

Happy tears rolled down Clarke’s face as Lexa pushed open the door into the pantry and guided the crying Clarke out of the kitchen and down the hall.  Neither of them noticed a terrified looking Finn standing by the sink.

****

After hot showers and a long round of soft lovemaking, Lexa helped Clarke drag out and go through the art supplies.  “These are perfect, Lex,” Clarke said looking at the charcoals.  “Now all I need is a willing nude model.”

“Are you suggesting I take my clothes back off?”  Lexa raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

“Yes,” Clarke grinned.

Lexa stripped off the t-shirt and sweats she had thrown on after their lovemaking and stood bare before Clarke.  “Artemis, goddess of the hunt,” Clarke said adoringly.

“Aw, love, I’m anything but a virgin,” Lexa taunted.  “We’ve already had sex twice today and your expression tells me that I’ll have your fingers in me at least one more time today.”

“According to the original definition, the one that would have been used to describe Artemis, you are a virgin,” Clarke smiled as Lexa gave her the side eye.  “Virginity was defined as not belonging to a man, sexually independent, if you will.”

“I  _ knew _ Artemis was into chicks,” Lexa grinned.

“Lay down on the loveseat,” Clarke ordered.

Lexa hummed, “I’m kind of into bossy Clarke.”

“You’re just into me in general,” Clarke pulled the desk chair nearer to the loveseat before locking the connecting door.

Lexa sat on the loveseat and awaited further instruction.  “Get comfortable, it’s going to be awhile.”

Lexa swung around and draped her legs over the opposite arm of the loveseat while resting her head on the one closest to her.  She laid on her back with her face turned to the artist.

“Are you comfortable enough to stay that way for a couple of hours?”  Lexa nodded.  Clarke looked at her adoringly before putting charcoal to paper.

Two hours later, Clarke’s stomach growled.  Lexa had fallen asleep after only a few minutes, all of the lines were finished, it needed a little more shading but that could be done without a naked, sleeping Lexa.

“Hey love,” Clarke called softly.  Lexa’s eyes opened slowly and a soft little smile spread across her face.  “You’re so beautiful,” Clarke murmured.  Lexa’s smile spread impossibly wide.  “I love you so much.”

“Can I move so I can smother you in kisses?”  Lexa asked.

Clarke chuckled, “Yes.”  The Ranger practically leapt off the couch, pausing only long enough for Clarke to set her drawing and materials on the coffee table before scooping her up and carrying her to the bed, following through with the promise of kisses.

Lexa had managed to strip her naked and begin kissing her torso when Clarke’s stomach growled again.  “You’re absolutely right, stomach.  We need sustenance before more lovemaking.”

****

Fully dressed again the couple headed toward the mess hall where they were greeted by applause.  “To the founder of the feast,” Harper raised her beer.

“LEXA WOODS,” almost everyone raised their drinks to her.  The usually stoic Lexa pinked a little at the attention.  Lincoln and Octavia stepped out of the kitchen to see what the fuss was about.

“What’s this all about?”  Clarke asked.

Most of their charges had packed themselves around one table, elbow room was sparse but that didn’t seem to be an issue.  Anya sat at one end with Murphy, Harper, and Bellamy on one side and Jasper, Monty, and Miller on the other side.

Raven and Finn sat at a table by themselves, somewhat distant from the others.  Lexa could see him trying to watch Clarke in her peripheral vision.  She made sure to position herself to block his view.

“Lincoln made the most incredible venison barbecue,” Harper gushed.

“Seriously, it’s fantastic,” Bellamy agreed through a mouth full of the meat.

“And rolls, Lex,” Anya moaned.  “He made the rolls.”

“I’ve got to get some of that,” Lexa could hear Clarke’s stomach rumble over the doctor's voiced desire for food.

Lincoln and Octavia reappeared a moment later carrying two plates and two beers each.  Setting them on the table closest to the main gathering.  “Dig in,” Lincoln waved the new arrivals over.

Clarke slid into a seat next to Lexa and ripped off a piece of Lincoln’s homemade sourdough rolls.  “Oh my God, that’s one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

“Nobody ask her to list the top ten, please,” Octavia blurted.

After a bite of the meat Clarke moaned, “That’s in the top ten.”

“Hey, Clarke,” Jasper called with a grin.  “What’s number one?”

“She’s sitting next to me,” Clarke said before snagging an extra roll off of Lincoln’s plate.  Lexa’s ears went pink.

Someone wolf whistled behind her, Lexa suspected it was Harper.

“Well, now I have to know what came in second,” Lincoln said.

“No, please no,” Octavia muttered.

Clarke snickered.  “Relax, O, I’ve had a lot of really great food since then.  A slice of pepperoni at Joe’s, it’s the only thing I really missed about living in the city.”

“How did this list used to go?”  Murphy wanted to know.

Clarke turned red and shook her head.

Monty cleared his throat, “A slice of Joe’s, Kayla, Amy, Michael, Lizzie the Lezzie…”  Monty stopped to try to remember the second half of the list.

Raven laughed, “Lizzie the Lezzie had the best pot.”

Jasper chimed in where Monty faltered, ”Bethany, gelato at that cart down by the park, Sierra …”

“Oh my God, Sierra!”  Monty howled with laughter.

“I didn’t sleep for the three weeks Sierra was around!”  Octavia shook her head.

“Empanadas from that place in the Village, and Raven’s ass,” Jasper finished with a flourish.  Raven stood from her seat part way across the room and mooned the table.

“Raven’s ass?”  Anya asked.

“Yeah, Raven’s reply to everything sophomore year of college was ‘bite my ass’,” Monty explained.  

“One day, Clarke did,” Jasper finished.

“She left a bruise,” Raven called with a pout.

Clarke had been eating and trying not to be embarrassed up to this point.  “She never told me to bite her ass again,” she shrugged.  Lexa put a hand on her thigh to reassure her that she wasn’t concerned about Clarke’s past exploits.

“Is my ass still in the top ten?”  Raven asked walking over to their table and sitting down next to Octavia as far as she could get from Anya and still be in the group.  Finn it seemed had gone to the kitchen to start the dishes.

“I’m sorry, Rae,” Clarke said between bites of roll.  “This meal finally bumped you.”

“It was a good run, I guess,” Raven sighed.  Clarke noted that Raven had to force her eyes not to drift toward Anya.  


****  
  
  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire


	13. Earthcrusher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go boom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should drop assurances that Finn will never lay another hand on Clarke. Seriously, not happening, don't stress over it.

**May 24, 2017**

Clarke woke later than usual, too many beers and a late night with Lexa left her in no hurry to start the day.  Lexa’s side of the bed had been cold so it was safe to assume she had gone for a run with the dogs.  A shower would help a little, but mostly what she craved were long limbs and soft full lips.  A few minutes into her shower, she felt the arms she craved slipping around her naked torso.  The lips she craved on her shoulder.

“Good morning, love,” Lexa murmured.

“Mmmmm, good morning.  Did you have a good run?”  Clarke spun in Lexa’s arms and pressed their fronts together.

“I did,” Lexa kissed her softly.  The Ranger guided her out from under the stream and against the cold tile wall, kissing her way down the doctor’s neck.

Several frantic minutes later and Clarke was coming on Lexa’s fingers against the no longer cold shower wall.  Another frantic few minutes after that and Clarke was on her knees while Lexa came on her tongue.  

Lincoln’s voice came through the door, “That’s not your personal sex dungeon.  Hurry up.”

Clarke laughed into Lexa’s stomach.  “We’re coming.”

“Pretty sure we already did,” Lexa chuckled.  She pulled Clarke up and kissed her chastely before steering both of them under the spray to wash quickly.

By the time they donned bathrobes with towels secured around wet hair and opened the bathroom door Lincoln had left the hall.

Dressed for the day, Lexa headed out to the farm to square away a few things.

****

Clarke went to Murphy and Harper’s room, the door was open and Murphy was alone with the e-reader.

“How’s it hanging, John?”  She rapped on the open door seeing him in his chair.

“I’m fine, the world is in the shitter, though?”  He held out his e-reader to her.  The headlines were insane.  ‘American Government Overthrown’, ‘Asteroid Obliterating Missile to Launch Today’, that didn’t even get into the many headlines referring to the chaos on other continents.  

Clarke handed Murphy his e-reader back and went in search of Raven.  She found her in the main living area gaping at the television.  

“ _NASA has been disbanded, had they been forthcoming from the time they spotted the asteroid we could have done something_ …”  Some pundit was on screen red faced, Clarke recognized him as an ultra conservative climate change denier.

“Raven,” Clarke got the engineers attention.  “Is that true?”

“No, it’s completely bat shit, Clarke.  They just want someone to blame.  We might have spotted it sooner if they hadn’t kept cutting funding,” Raven opined.  “They’re going to fire my missile soon but it’s way too late.”

The television screen changed to the missile on a launch pad.  “Monty!”  Clarke yelled running toward the Watchtower, Bo hot on her heels.  Monty met her in the hallway.  “Get everyone inside and lock it down,” she ordered.  “Send everyone to the living area.”

Monty ran back into the Watchtower followed by Clarke and opened the main channel.  “Everyone to the living room, now.  We’re locking down the bunker _._ ”

“Can you find the satellite or telescope with the best view of the asteroid and put it in the PIP?”  She asked.

“Yeah,” Monty focused on his computer screen.

Clarke jogged back out to the living room, with Bo right beside her.  When she stopped to stare at the screen, the dog leaned against her leg.

Lexa came running into the living area, Teddy at her side.  Lincoln and Anya not far behind.  “What’s going on?”

“They’re launching the missile,” Raven said.

“Why did you order the lockdown?”  Lexa focused on Clarke.

“Because from the time that missile fails to do it’s job until the asteroid hits, we’re in danger,” Clarke told her.  “If anybody sees us or gets a hint that there might be a safe place up here, we will be overrun.”  

Lexa nodded and focused on the images on the television.  

“Hey,”  Clarke whispered.  Lexa blinked out of her thoughts and looked at Clarke with a soft expression.  “We’re safe because of you.”  

Monty came into the living room with a stack of three laptops, handing one to Raven and sitting the others on the coffee table open, one showing views of the exterior of the bunker, the other different news channels and satellite images.  The others trickled into the living area following their eyes to the television.

A new face filled the television screen.  A woman, dark hair, dark eyes, olive complexion.  Lexa thought she might have seen her at an embassy or maybe a base.  The screen informing them her name was Becca Pram, Founder and CEO of Polaris Industries.  Polaris Industries made military grade weapons, Lexa had used them on occasion.  “Turn that up,” Lexa said to no one in particular the buzz of voices in the room now loud enough to make it hard to understand the woman speaking.

“... _weeks ago offering the appropriate military hardware to obliterate the asteroid before it could become a danger.  The failure of the American leadership is wholly responsible for this extinction level event,_ ” the woman on screen was well spoken and persuasive.  

“ _And you think that gives you the right to overthrow the American Government?_ ”  The off-screen interviewer asked.

“ _What was there to overthrow?  They’re hiding in a bunker in Virginia, they’ve already absolved themselves of their incompetence_ ,” she argued.

“ _And what can you do to save the Earth?_ ”  The interviewer was unbelievably smug for someone who was going to starve to death within a year.

“ _Nothing_ ,” she answered simply.  “ _The rocket we’re launching today will only lessen the damage by dividing the impact into two sites instead of one._ ”

“ _Then what, as the new leader of the United States, do you intend to do to save your people?_ ”  He wasn’t smug anymore.

“ _I’m providing them with a list of government bunkers, seek them out.  I have ordered the military to collect and deliver any supplies not needed in their shelters to these bunkers,_ ” Becca Pram was surprisingly calm.  Her face left the screen and was replaced with a map showing bunker locations.

“How can she be so calm?”  Jasper asked.

“She’s already safe in a bunker.  If I had to guess she’s either at Greenbrier or Cheyenne,” Lexa said.

“I don’t know where those are,” Jasper admitted.

“Greenbrier is in West Virginia, Cheyenne is a few miles outside of Colorado Springs,” Lexa explained looking at the map as the news program zoomed in on each one.  Lexa was familiar with most of them:  Mount Weather, Iron Mountain, Raven Rock.

Becca was back on the screen, “ _If you are not able to get to one of these secure locations, please make your way to the nearest U.S. Military Installation for shelter._ ”

The bunker was eerily quiet the only sound being the anchor on television going over the bunker locations.

“... _We’re being told the missile is being launched momentarily.  We will now take you live to Cape Canaveral_ ... “  The view changed to the missile on the launchpad.

Raven began muttering what anyone else would have mistaken as a prayer.  “Please show the Jolly Johnson.  Please show the Jolly Johnson.  Please show the Jolly Johnson.”  Clarke was shaking her head at the engineer when the screen flashed to a close up of the engines and if you knew what you were looking for, you could just make out a pair of crossed dicks.  “They showed it!” Monty and Jasper cheered with Raven, Anya was smirking at Raven’s ‘accomplishment’.  

Lexa caught Finn out of the corner of her eye, he was silent and removed.  Eyes distant enough that it was clear he had missed the whole exchange over Raven’s juvenile stunt.

The minutes ticked by, Jasper, Monty, and Raven giggled over dicks while everyone else tried to pretend it wasn’t the end of the world.  Clarke had to admit, as far as surreal moments went, this one topped them all.

The rocket’s engines fired and every eye locked on the television.  The next several minutes were silent except for the sounds coming from the tv speakers.

They watched rapt, as the rocket began it’s rise into the sky.

Lexa caught Finn staring at Clarke out of the corner of her eye while everyone else was staring at the television.  She took a step forward to block his view and slid a possessive arm around her love.  Clarke laid her head against her Ranger’s shoulder while she watched the launch.

It took far longer for the missile to break out of the planet's atmosphere than they would have thought.  

“Jesus, Reyes, I thought this was supposed to be one of your inventions,” Jasper moaned at the monotony.

“It is!”  Raven defended.

“Then why hasn’t anything exploded yet?”  Jasper demanded.

“Space travel takes time, Jasper,” Raven growled.

Jasper flung himself into the back of the couch and closed his eyes.  “I’ve had more fun watching paint dry.  Wake me when the asteroid is in sight.”

“You were high, dude,” Monty pointed out.  “Everything's more fun when you're high.”

“We really should have gotten more seating for in here,” Lincoln observes, early in their occupation, Lincoln had arranged all four sofas to face the television in what he termed stadium style, with the two in the center horizontal and the two on either end angled toward the television.  

Nobody points out that the sofa Finn is sitting on is otherwise empty.  Lexa gets the women not wanting to be near him, but even the guys steer wide around him as if creepy fucker is catching.  Jasper and Monty were on either side of Raven with laptops on the coffee table in front of them.  Bell, Harper, and Miller were on the second center sofa.  Finn was alone on the left wing of the arrangement, Anya and Octavia were on the right wing.

“Grab a couple of chairs from the mess hall,” Lexa suggested.  She cuts her eyes across the room indicating her unwillingness to leave Clarke with Finn nearby.

Lincoln moves into the dining area and returns with two chairs placing them behind Clarke and Lexa who were positioned behind Raven and Monty with Murphy in his chair next to them, before joining Anya and Octavia.

Lexa saw to it that Clarke was seated comfortably before sitting down herself after Clarke pulled her chair closer.

The missile broke the atmosphere and into the inky blackness of space.  Cameras attached to the rocket were transmitting images back to their screens.

Even though it was literally the least exciting missile launch any of them had ever seen, no one took their eyes from the screen as the rocket engines continued to push the explosive toward the asteroid at top speed.

“Can we play Cards Against Humanity or something?”  Jasper whined.  Bellamy reached across the space separating the couches and punched him in the arm.  “What the hell, man?  I know we have it.”

“Tact, jackass,” Bellamy huffed.

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re the king of tact,” Octavia snorted.

“I apologized to Clarke and Lexa and Lexa hasn’t had to hit me again since,” Bellamy defended.  “I’m growing as a person.”

Lexa rolled her eyes.

“Jasper, man, take a nap it’s going to be at least another couple of hours,” Raven assured.  “I promise we’ll wake you up before the boom.”

****

Two hours had passed, Bellamy and Miller were shooting pool in the game room.  Jasper was playing poker with Lincoln, Anya, and Octavia at a table they had pulled in from the mess hall.  Raven and Monty still had their heads buried in the three laptops on the coffee table.  Harper and Murphy had volunteered to make some sandwiches for everyone.  Finn had disappeared off to the room he shared with Raven they presumed.  Clarke and Lexa had locked themselves in the Watchtower with the dogs.  

Lexa was studying Monty’s notes and instructions so that she could do anything in the Watchtower he could do.  

Clarke was sketching Lexa while she poked around in the system.  Her eyes flicked up to the screen dedicated to the missile cam.  “Lex,” she nodded at the screen.  She could see the asteroid and it was much bigger than she had imagined.  The screen blinked out before reappearing.  Then it blinked out again and came back with static before blinking out a third time.

“What happened?”  Clarke asked as the screen came back, the missile was under the asteroid.  The view jerked upwards before it was filled with bright light before blinking out for good.

Both women jumped out of their seats and bolted for the living area.

“What the hell happened?”  Clarke demanded.

“They lost control of it,” Raven was typing like a madwoman.  “Monty, get me back in!”  

Monty took the laptop Raven was wrestling with.  

“I think it blew on the back end of it asteroid,” Raven grimaced.

“What does that mean, Rae?”  Bellamy asked.

“It means it we just gave it a booster rocket,” Raven shook her head.

Monty pulled up a new screen and handed it back to Raven.  “Shush,” she shouted and seemed to be working through a long string of calculations.

It was the satellite image they were familiar with, there were two hunks of rock now, but they were much closer than they had been before.

“Raven,” Clarke shouted.

“In the morning,” Raven sighed.  “It’ll be here around three in the morning.”

“Where?”  Monty asked softly.

“Still working on it,” Raven told him.

They were all silent while the television stayed black, waiting for Raven to finish.  It was half an hour before she checked and rechecked the trajectories and spin of the Earth.

“Montreal,” Raven finally spoke, voice hoarse.  “Near Montreal and about a hundred miles off the coast of Savannah.”

“Are we safe here?”  Octavia asked.

“I think so, we may get some earthquake damage, the east coast is going to be wiped out though,” Raven was still working out calculations.

Lexa walked out of the room.  Clarke followed her.  They went into the kitchen and out into the caves.  Lexa took Clarke’s hand when the doctor extended it and they walked silently to the sealed roll up door, Lexa hit the panel and it began to roll up.  They walked out into the forest in the midday sun.  They walked to their rock and sat down.  Before long, silent tears were streaming down the Ranger’s cheeks.  Clarke wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and pulled her close.  They sat like that in silence for a long time.

Clarke felt a new hand on her shoulder and her eyes followed it to Octavia.  Lincoln was also behind her with a hand on Lexa’s shoulder.  She watched Anya approach and take a seat on the rock next to Lexa.  Another several minutes of silenced passed before Miller wheeled Murphy out followed by Harper and Bellamy.

****

Everyone took some time to hang out in the sun for the last time for who knew how long.  Lexa and Clarke took over the Watchtower so Monty could go outside with Raven, Finn walked out with them.  When the sun had set everyone moved back into the bunker as Lexa locked it down before going through a mental checklist of things to lock down and double check.

Lincoln and Lexa were checking the water system for the livestock when Lincoln heard something back in a dark recess of the cave.  He moved off and Lexa heard him whisper call her, “Lex!”

Lexa followed his call into the low light where she began to hear a low chittering.  “Linc, what is that?”

“Come see,” he said a slight chuckle in his voice.

Lexa came around him and spotted two young raccoons peeking at Linc from behind a hay bale.  

“Aren’t they cute?”  Lincoln observed.  “They look like you with war paint.”

She scowled at him and hoped the dogs didn’t try to hurt them.  As if on cue, Teddy came barreling up to Lexa.  Alerted to a new smell he snuffled around the hay bale until a tiny black paw swatted him away.  Teddy huffed and looked at Lexa.  

“Just let them be,” Lexa told the dog. “This is as close as Clarke’s going to get to her Noah’s Ark scenario.”

****

******May 25, 2017**  
** **

At 2:57am Clarke, Raven, Lexa, and Monty were in the Watchtower, everyone else was in the living area, when the first piece of the asteroid entered the atmosphere.  Milliseconds later, the second piece followed.  

They didn’t feel it when the first enormous chunk of rock slammed into the surface of the planet near Montreal as Raven predicted.  Watching it from the satellites in orbit around the Earth allowed them an odd sense of distance until a few moments later the mountain began to shake and rumble around them.

Clarke and Lexa held on to each other as the ground shook hard for several minutes, faces buried in each others necks.  The power stayed on, Monty waited for alarms and none sounded.  Raven watched the screens with the resolve and emotional distance of a scientist.

When the shaking slowed to a stop Monty spoke, “According to the sensors, it was a ten point eight on the Richter scale.”

The cameras were still transmitting images.  Monty set them up to cycle, as yet, there was no appreciable change to the surrounding forest.

Lexa opened the Watchtower door.  “Report,” she shouted.

“We’re good, the television is still on the wall,” Lincoln shouted back.  

Time passed as they waited for the other shoe to drop.  For a moment it was like a hurricane reached the Great Smoky Mountains as water and rock crashed around them.

Then the winds came, they heard it before they saw trees being blown down, not all of them, but many, before the first of the cameras failed.  The flames came on the heels of the airblast, incinerating leaves and grass, some trees staying alight, spreading flames to others.  

More cameras failed in the flames.  The power held, the cameras around the solar panels showed the flames having already cleared the rocky area.  

Satellite images showed the surface of the Earth aflame.  In the darkness of the night side, it was like staring into the glowing coals of the pit of hell.  

An hour after the flames started, Monty declared the radiation levels had returned to normal.

“How long do you think it’s going to burn?”  Clarke finally asked eyes red from a combination of crying and exhaustion.

“Day’s maybe,” Monty replied.  “The temperatures in the caves are maintaining their normal levels so the animals should be fine.”

“The worst of the impact is over,” Raven declared as the bunker shook with another aftershock.  “You two should get some sleep.”

Lexa looked at Raven like she didn’t understand the words.  She looked at Clarke, with her red eyes, throughout the entire impact they had never fully released each other.

“Clarke, sedate her if you have to,” Raven insisted.  “The last thing we need is an Army Ranger having a psychotic break over a lack of sleep.”  Raven had noted Lexa’s distance and lack of verbalization and was actually very concerned that Lexa was not reacting to the devastation.

Clarke nodded, understanding Raven’s intent.  ”Come on, my love.”

****

In their room Clarke steered Lexa into the bathroom and started a hot shower.  She carefully stripped both of their clothes off and pulled the Ranger into the spray.  Another small aftershock struck. “Maybe I can time giving you an orgasm with one of those,” Clarke joked.

Lexa cracked a smile for the first time since they had been in the shower that morning.

“Thank you for saving me,” Clarke kissed her softly.  “Thank you for saving my friends,” another kiss.  “Thank you for not ejecting those two little raccoons.  You’re pretty sexy when you’re being a hero.”

“You always think I’m sexy,” Lexa tried to smirk, but it wasn’t really working.  They washed each other, the pair of them having learned over the last two weeks that they enjoyed the intimacy of showering together and washing each other’s bodies.  

Cleaned and rinsed, Clarke turned off the water and toweled off her girlfriend before leading her to the bed.  Once they were laid down wrapped around each other under the blankets, Clarke spoke up.  “Talk to me, love.”

“Just touch me so I know we’re still here,” Lexa whispered.

Clarke pulled her close before sliding her hand up to the back of her love’s neck and pushed their foreheads together.  “You’re here with me,” she whispered.  “Safe.  We’re safe, Lexa.”

Lexa gripped at Clarke, clutching onto her like a lifeline.  She sought Clarke’s lips and connected to them.  Needing to feel, to touch, to taste.  Hands sliding to the small of Clarke’s back, tugging her close.  

Clarke changed the angle of the kiss, taking it deeper, skin to skin.  They both needed to touch, to feel alive.  Hands wandered over curves, lips traveled to jaws and necks.  Finding peace in curves, finding solace in softness, finding home in each other.

In the afterglow, Lexa kissed her temple, “Everything I did before was for nothing.”

“It brought you to me, Clarke murmured into the Ranger’s neck.  “It’s kept us alive.  It wasn’t for nothing, it made you, you so you could save us both.”

Lexa kissed her temple again, unable to refute Clarke’s reasoning.  “I love you, Clarke.”

“I love you, Lexa.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Lif - "Earthcrusher"


	14. Goodbye Blue Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post asteroid strike, tensions are running high and Finn finally snaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for sexual assault. Consent is withdrawn during intercourse.

**May 25, 2017**

After a few hours of sleep leaving them only mildly sleep deprived, Clarke and Lexa left their cocoon of flesh and warmth a little after noon.  They stopped in the kitchen and found it empty, a few hero sandwiches were wrapped and stacked in the fridge.  They took two and headed to the Watchtower where they found a bleary eyed Raven and a satellite view of much of the continent still burning.  The image was already cloudy from the combination of smoke, ash, and ejecta in the air.

“Did you sleep at all?”  Lexa asked.

“Probably about as much as you,” Raven replied.  “I let Monty go get some sleep.”

“Is it as bad as it looks?”  Clarke asked still staring at the screen.

Raven made a noncommittal noise.  “Worse.  Most of this mountain range isn’t burning.  A lot of the mountain ranges and thicker forests aren’t burning.  The grasslands are toast.  Monty got some screenshots of the cities before the detritus in the air started getting too thick.”  Raven pulled up the images, Asheville was a smouldering pile of rubble.  Between the quakes, air blasts, and fires, there wasn’t anything recognizable.  Visibility over New York was already bad when Monty took the stills.  Buildings were down, many were burning.  Washington D.C. looked like a city caught between two nuclear blasts, which Raven supposed was pretty close to the truth.  It was swampy enough that the fires weren’t spreading which could be considered a plus.

Charleston and Savannah were gone, lost to the crater.  Florida seemed to be under water, but that could change once the oceans settled.   

“Atlanta hasn’t burned like that since Sherman’s march to the sea,” Raven joked.  The others just looked at her.  “Too soon?”

“Too soon,” Lexa agreed.

“At least twelve nuclear power stations melted down, so far.  It looks like only a few had the sense to shut down before the quakes.  Thing’s out west aren’t as bad, except for the San Andres fault, which just went nuts, there's nothing left.  Most of the rest of the west is virtually fine, so far.  Which is worse, really,” Raven said.

“Why is it worse?”  Clarke asked.  “They lived.”

“They’re going to starve to death,” Lexa told her.  “Impact winter.  Are we in the affected area for any of the nuclear meltdowns?”

"No, the South Carolina plant shut down as soon as the meteors changed trajectory," Raven looked at the screen.  "Another six nuclear power plants are melting down."  


“Any damage to the bunker?”  Lexa changed the subject.

“Nope,” Raven shook her head.  “Crazy Uncle Titus was the Batman of bunker building.  We lost a lot of cameras, but the sensors are all still working.  There are enough extra cameras in storage that we can easily replace all of the ones that burned up once it's safe to go outside.”

"Raven, where are you getting the information about the outside world?"  Clarke asked.

"The high muckity-mucks are communicating via two of the twelve satellites we're hacked into," Raven grinned.  "Europe and Asia are pretty messed up, too.  Tsunamis wrecked every coastline, a lot of the Asian nations were already bombing each other into the middle ages before the asteroids.  Lots of nuclear activity from Korea, Iraq, China, and Russia.  Some might be meltdowns, but more than likely some asshole dictators decided they wanted the final word." 

****

The planet burned for four days.  They were long days.  In the mornings, Lexa and Lincoln ‘walked’ the dogs before milking the cows and collecting the eggs.  The first few potty trips for the dogs were difficult.  They wanted to go outside and neither dog was comfortable taking care of business indoors.  Since the creek ran away from the mountain and away from their watershed, the humans had opted to rinse the urine into the creek and collect the solid waste to flush into the mountains septic system.  Bo always looked shamefaced after an indoor potty, no matter how often the humans tried to reassure her.

The young raccoons had taken to helping themselves to the cow feed with occasional handfuls of oats.  The male had begun to climb up Lincoln’s arm to hang out on his shoulder while he shoveled out the paddocks.

After the farm was taken care of they would return to the bunker to wake their girlfriends and shower.  

Every day, they checked the air quality outside.  Waiting for the day they could unseal and open the steel rolling door in the cavern, if only to let the dogs run out and relieve themselves on the ashes of the old world.

****

After breakfast, everyone would disperse to do their jobs, Murphy would be present for breakfast before going off to bed after his night shift in the Watchtower.  Jasper divided his time between the greenhouse and the brewery where he was counting down the hours until he could bottle up his first batch with found ingredients.  He had already sprouted hops and a lovely German wheat for future beer production. 

Harper and Clarke had been studying the various veterinary care textbooks that had been acquired, many of them digital, learning how to take care of the livestock and pets along with their human charges.  Lincoln and Anya had made sure to stock up on the various vaccinations and medications for the animals on their trips out.

Raven was going wall panel to wall panel, checking connections and frames, Finn spot welding any cracks or damage she found.  Miller and Anya took inventory, Bellamy cleaned.  Lincoln and Octavia ran the kitchen.  Lexa flitted from place to place and task to task.  Helping where help was needed, making decisions, ensuring that Finn didn’t get near Clarke.

Every day, Finn seemed more and more distant, they waited for the psychotic break.  Lexa kept one handgun out of the armory and it was on her person in a shoulder holster at all times unless she was asleep, when it was under the edge of the mattress with the clip in the drawer.  Everyone except Raven seemed to know why she had it.  Raven was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice.  At least twice a day, Raven would look over her shoulder to say something to Anya and find herself disappointed to see only Finn.  She missed working with Anya, she missed the banter and the easy way Anya would anticipate her needs and have the tool in hand before she turned around.

****

**May 30, 2017**

On the sixth day sealed inside the bunker,  the rains came.  The last of the fires doused in the deluge that would go on for weeks.

The guys all spent the evening in the brewery bottling up the first lager and a lovely weiss that Clarke would insist needed to stay available for her drinking pleasure.  Lexa and Clarke had retired to their room early, they spent a lot of time curled up together on their loveseat watching old movies and more than likely carrying ‘Netflix and Chill’ into the new world.  The honeymoon phase of their relationship completely undisturbed by the apocalypse.  Raven had some resentment.  


Raven found Anya in the gym, working off the stress of being sealed in the bunker.

“What’s up, Greasemonkey?”  Anya smirked.  Raven missed that smirk.  

“So much more than your tiny mind can comprehend,” Raven retorted, this was better.  She climbed on a treadmill a few feet from where Anya was pedaling a stationary bike.

“Eh, I do alright,” Anya shrugged.  “Did you need to use those soft squishy muscles for something?  

“I figure you spend enough time up my ass I should at least make it presentable for you,” Raven smirked setting a steady pace.

“So, what you’re saying is, you want to look sexy for me?”  Anya practically giggled.

_ Every goddamn time _ , Raven blushed.  “I just thought while you were kissing it, it should be taut,” she teased.

They bantered and bickered for another twenty minutes before Anya climbed off the bike and stretched.  Raven stared.

“You’ve got a little drool, Reyes,” Anya smirked, pointing to her own chin.  “You sure look at my ass a lot for a straight girl.”

Raven looked away and shut down the treadmill, Anya chuckled.  Raven was having a harder and harder time denying her attraction to the sharp-tongued woman.  Anya had moved very close to her and while the smell of sweat and exertion would be disgusting on anyone else, the scent coming off of Anya was an elixir that Raven wanted to taste.  “I should go,” she pushed Anya away and rushed to her room where she seduced Finn to relieve some of the pressure.

****

**June 12, 2017**

Two more weeks have passed.  Tensions have started getting high.

“... you’re fucking cheating,” Bellamy’s raised voice came from the living room.  Lexa followed the sound of angry voices, watching from the mess hall door.  


“I don’t have to cheat,” Murphy gathered the playing cards Bellamy had thrown on the coffee table.  “You just suck.”

“You’re a goddamn cheater and I should put your teeth down your throat,” Bellamy was on his feet pointing an accusatory finger at Murphy.

“Sit down, Bell,” Clarke ordered distractedly from the other side of the room where she was reading a medical book.

“You always take his side,” Bellamy roared at Clarke.  “You’re not the boss here.”

“I don’t have to be the boss to know you’re being a dick,” Clarke looked up from her book.  “It’s just a game, stop acting like a child.”

“He’s not acting,” Octavia smirked next to Clarke who laughed.

“Fuck you, Clarke,” Bellamy raged.  “Just because you’re fucking Lexa you think you own the place.  You’re not that important!”  

“That will be quite enough of that,” Lexa commanded walking fully into the fray.  “You will treat Clarke with respect.”

“Whatever, I’ve had my dick in that,” Bellamy spat.  

“And yet, here at the end of the world nobody wants your dick,” Lexa said coldly.

Frustrated and angry, Bell took a swing at the Ranger, Lexa dodged easily and gets him in a headlock.  “Say Auntie.”

“Fuck you,” Bellamy struggles against her.

Lexa tightened her grip.  “Look, Bell, we both know I can kill you with my bare hands and not break a sweat.  You need to get over your alpha male bullshit.  I know it’s fucking hard to live like this.  I know,” Lexa kept her voice calm.  “But you’re being a complete douchebag to everyone.  Don’t make me beat you into submission.”

Bellamy relented.  “You’re right, I’m sorry.”  Lexa released him.  Bell straightened and took a moment to collect himself.  “I apologize.  I think I should go put some time in at the gym.”

****

**June 15, 2017**

Finn’s been so distant, Raven hopes it’s the depression from being cooped up in this bunker all the time and not that he senses her attraction to Anya.  She thinks she’s been doing a pretty good job of keeping that under wraps.  It’s been worse lately because it’s been a fight to get Finn to want to give her some release.  That’s a problem, because she’s been super aroused for weeks, she wants Anya.  But Finn is her boyfriend and she loves him and he loves her.  She brought him into this bunker and now she’s stuck with him.

He’s sitting on the loveseat in just his boxers again, empty beer bottles scattered around the room.  He’s got that distant look in his eyes again.  She strips herself bare and stands in front of him.  He barely glances at her.  She turned around and bent over, putting her hands on the coffee table and purposefully pushed her ass back toward his face.

“I’m so wet for you, Finn,” she was wet, just not for him.  Anya had been teaching her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the evenings.  Spending her evenings in such close contact with Anya's sinewy form had led to way too many close calls.  She wasn't ready to admit she wanted Anya, she just wasn't ready.  


Raven pushed her naked ass back so far she could feel his breath on her labia.  She couldn’t tell if he was paying attention or not so she sat in his lap hard and rubbed her cunt on his lap, moaning slightly.  She felt his hands reach for her hips, she used her hands to trap them there and stood, leading him to the bed.  Where she climbed up.

“Finn, please fuck me.  I need you inside me!”  Raven begged on her elbows and knees on the bed with her ass pushed up in the air.  Finn pushed off his boxers, slowly climbed up on the bed, and then rammed his dick into her, almost violently.  

“Tell me you’re mine, not hers,” Finn urged while he pumped into her.  

_ Fuck, he knows _ .  “I’m yours, Finn, just yours.”  He pumped harder, Raven was pretty sure she would have hip bone bruises in the morning.

This roughness was the new normal, when she could get him to pay attention to her he was rough and distant.  She yearned for the Finn of before the asteroid, when he was always an attentive and gentle lover, more apt to use his tongue than his cock.  Since they arrived at the bunker he was rarely attentive and never gentle.  He thrust into her hard and deep, Raven was again so desperate for release that she didn’t complain.  She was just happy to have someone inside her, rubbing against her g-spot.  He started pumping faster, ramming into her erratically.

“Oh, Clarke, you feel so fucking good,” Finn cried out.  

“What the FUCK?!”  Raven shouted and tried to pull away.  Finn gripped her painfully, “LET ME GO, FINN!”

Finn clutched her hips roughly and continued to ram himself into her painfully.  “Clarke, I love you so much!”  

Raven heard someone trying to get through the connecting door.  “Get OFF!”  

“Fuck, CLARKE!”  Finn cried out, his fingers bruising her hips, pumping into her painfully.

“FINN GET OFF,” Raven roared.  

Finn pushed her shoulders down onto the bed hard and continued to fuck her as hard and fast as he could.  

The connecting door burst in, she heard it more than saw it, the side of her face still pushed roughly into the mattress.

“CLAAAAAARRRRRRRRKKKKKKEEE!”  He howled as he began to come inside her.

She felt Finn ripped away from her, heard him still moaning Clarke’s name as he rutted into the air, cum splattering around the room.

“Raven, I’ve got you,” she heard Anya’s voice and felt a blanket being wrapped around her.  Raven felt herself being lifted up and swaddled before being picked up gently and carried out of the room.

She heard someone beating on steel and indistinct voices.  

****

“She’s in shock,” Clarke told Anya.  “Lay her on the loveseat, elevate her feet.  I’ll get another blanket.”

When Lexa had opened the door and heard Anya’s explanation, she had grabbed Lincoln and left in a hurry.  Clarke had been on the other side of the room and didn’t hear anything.  “I need to run get an oxygen tank, I’ll be right back, talk to her.”

Clarke ran out of the room and ran into a barely clad Octavia in the hall.

“Are you okay?”  Octavia grabbed her.

“I’m fine, Raven’s not,  I don’t know what happened,” Clarke pushed her off and ran for the infirmary.  She grabbed an oxygen tank and mask and ran back to the room she shared with Lexa as fast as she could, ignoring the noise across the hall.  Everyone was standing in the hall in their pajamas, trying to stay out of her way when she tore down the hallway. She closed and locked the door behind her.  

Anya had Raven's head on her lap sitting on the loveseat.    


“I’ve got you, Rae,” Anya was saying softly.  “You’re safe.”

“Hold her head up for me,” Clarke instructed and she slipped the mask over Raven’s face.  She adjusted the knob on the tank before running her fingers through the engineer’s dark hair.  “You’re safe, Rae, you’re safe.  Anya’s way scarier than Lexa.”

“Damn right, I am,” Anya said softly.  

Clarke thought she could hear a scuffle and shouting in the hall, she was too focused on Raven to make out what was happening.  “Come back to us, Rae,” she said softly.  “Anya hasn’t been insulted in like an hour.”

“You’re the only other one that’s not afraid of me, grease monkey,” Anya whispered.

Raven’s head slowly turned and her eyes focused on Anya before she started to cry.

****

Lexa had just wanted to pleasure Clarke and sleep.  Finn had been especially creepy today, Monty had been keeping an eye on him and reported that he had been staring at Clarke all day.  Clarke had gotten so used to ignoring him that she didn’t even notice his presence anymore.  Bo always stayed between Clarke and Finn, the dog knew he was a threat and intended to protect her person.

The couple had a long, hot shower together, where Clarke had washed her hair and carefully detangled her curls with her fingers.  It was wonderfully intimate.  She was just closing the connecting door and telling the dogs to get off of the furniture when someone was pounding on the hallway door.  She grabbed her bathrobe and opened it roughly, where she found a raging Anya with Raven swaddled in her arms.  

“Finn was forcing himself on her and screaming Clarke’s name,” Anya said low enough that Clarke couldn’t hear.  Lexa yanked open the connecting door and ran down the short connecting hall to Lincoln’s room.  The music was turned up, most likely intended to cover the sounds of their lovemaking.  She pulled open his door and avoided looking at a naked Octavia straddling Lincoln in the bed, “Come with me, now.  Finn finally snapped.”  

Lincoln grabbed his boxers from the floor and followed Lexa out into the hall and across the way into Anya’s open door.  They ran down the connecting hall and saw Finn naked, crying, and repeating Clarke’s name.   


When he saw Lexa coming at him his eyes widened, he reached for something under the loveseat cushion, and began screaming and brandishing a large kitchen knife.  “NO!  NO!  NO!  YOU CAN’T HURT HER ANYMORE!  SHE’S MINE NOW!  I SAVED HER FROM YOUR ABUSE!  YOU CAN’T HURT HER ANYMORE!  SHE TOLD ME SHE WANTED ME TO FUCK HER.  SHE SAID IT!  SHE BEGGED!  SHE TOLD ME SHE’S MINE!  SHE’S FREE OF YOU!  SHE’S MINE NOW!”

He was screaming nonsense and Lexa had to puzzle together what he believed happened.  

“SHE’S TERRIFIED OF YOU!  YOU STOLE HER!  YOU FORCE HER TO STAY WITH YOU!  SHE’S NOT YOUR PRISONER ANYMORE!  I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU TO PROTECT HER!”  Finn continued to scream waving the knife menacingly but without any actual knowledge of how to use it.

He deluded himself into believing he was having consensual sex with Clarke.  He was a danger to everyone in the bunker.  She watched him brandish the knife wildly for several moments, crying and snivelling.  “I’LL KILL YOU!”

Lexa moved closer to him, having watched long enough to be able to disarm him quickly.

“DON’T YOU TOUCH ME!!!  DON’T COME NEAR ME!!!  SHE’S MINE!!!  I’LL KILL YOU!!!”  Lexa grabbed the wrist brandishing the knife and hit him in the face as hard as she could, knocking him out.  “Find some way to secure him while we figure out what to do.”

Lincoln grabbed a pair of pants off the floor and tore them into strips.  He tied Finn’s hands, then he jammed a wad of cloth into his mouth and secured it with a gag.  Finally, he tied his feet and hauled him out of the room, naked, past everyone hovering in the hall, and across the bunker into the meeting room.  Locking him in with his override code.

Lexa moved out into the hallway where everyone else was waiting for an explanation.  

“He finally fucking snapped, didn’t he?”  Bellamy said.

Lexa nodded.  

“What was he screaming about?”  Miller asked.

“He thought I was holding Clarke against her will and hurting her,” Lexa was incredulous.

“That’s ridiculous,” Octavia snorted.  “Clarke thinks you hung the moon.”

“Clarke thinks Lexa invented orgasms,” Jasper joked.

“There’s nothing funny here,” Lexa growled.  “Finn pinned Raven and fucked her calling her Clarke.”

“Oh, shit,” Monty murmured.

“Oh, fuck, I didn’t know,” Jasper apologized.

“I want to slit his throat,” Lexa was raging.  She could hear the blood rushing through her skull.  “He’s dangerous.”

Lincoln came back from securing Finn.  

“Lexa, you can’t execute a crazy person,” Bellamy said.

“I also can’t let him stay in this bunker,” Lexa snapped.  “He’s a rapist.  I know your lack of a vagina makes it hard for you to grasp the danger to every woman here.”

Bellamy narrowed his eyes winding himself up for a fight.

“Look, he’s secure for tonight,” Lincoln said.  “Let’s all get some sleep and talk about our options in the morning.”

Everyone nodded and started back towards their rooms.  “Harper, a word,” Lincoln said.  When the others were back in their rooms he spoke again.  “I need you to give him something that will keep him knocked out until we can decide what to do.”

Harper nodded.  “You’re coming with me, though.”

Lincoln followed her and they gave him enough sedative to keep a bear knocked out for twelve hours.

****

Lexa returned to the room she shared with Clarke.  Raven was crying softly into Anya’s chest.  Clarke was gently rubbing her back.

“What’s going on?”  Clarke asked.

“You didn’t tell her?”  Lexa looked at Anya.

Anya shook her head and continued whispering softly to Raven.

Lexa had tears in her eyes, she grabbed Clarke and hugged her tightly.

“Baby, talk to me,” Clarke pleaded pushing away and placing a hand on either side of the Ranger’s face.

“He thinks I’ve been holding you against your will.  That I hurt you.  He screamed that you’re his now because you begged him to fuck you,” silent tears rolled down Lexa’s face though her voice remained calm.

“What?  What are you talking about?”  Clarke didn’t have a clue.

“Finn,” Lexa said softly.  “He thinks that you want him, I think.  Fuck, I don’t know, Clarke.  He’s lost it and he thinks he was having sex with you,” Lexa wiped her eyes.  “I can’t let him stay here, he’s dangerous.”  

Clarke cringed, understanding the implications.  “He can’t stay here,” she agreed.

****  
  
  
  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pink Floyd - Goodbye Blue Sky


	15. Coming Undone

**June 16, 2017**

No one slept well.  Anya had taken Raven into her room and after insisting on sleeping on the loveseat, Raven couldn’t sleep until Anya climbed in the bed and held her.

Clarke and Lexa clutched at each other, sleeping fitfully.  Waking often and making sure the other was there and safe.  Lexa wouldn’t sleep well until Finn was no longer a threat.

Lincoln woke first and checked on Finn.  He was still sedated.  Octavia had found a pair of handcuffs in her things and Lincoln put them on Finn.  He really didn’t enjoy dealing with the still naked man, it wasn’t just his nakedness that Lincoln found disgusting.  There was still dried cum on his stomach and legs.  He untied the improvised rope from the unconscious man’s ankles and shoved a pair of sweatpants part way up his legs before retying his ankles.  Hopefully, when he came back, Finn will have come to and pulled up the pants.

He went out to check on and feed the farm animals.  He milked the cows and collected the eggs before going to wake Octavia.

Lexa knocked on their connecting door while Octavia got dressed.

“Hey,” he said opening the door.  “He’s still out.  How’s Clarke?”

“I’m going to be fine,” Clarke followed Lexa into the room.

“We should probably talk about it before we see Raven and everyone else,” Lexa said sitting on Lincoln and Octavia’s loveseat.

“Exile,” Clarke said.  “I don’t want any of us responsible for killing him and he’ll probably die out there on his own.”

“Personally, I’m with Lexa in wanting to slit his throat,” Lincoln sat at the foot of his bed next to Octavia.

“I’m going with exile.  I know Clarke and Raven, they’ll never get over executing him,” Octavia said.  “He’ll die out there anyway.”

“How long until we can go outside?”  Clarke asked.

Lincoln had checked the readings this morning.  “With protective gear, we could probably go out in a day or two.  We can’t just toss him out the front door, he’ll just wait until we open the doors again.  We’ll have to go start replacing cameras soon.  He can’t stay around here.”

“You’re right he can’t,” Clarke said.  “That’s why we’re going to blindfold him, toss him in the back of a car and drive him somewhere far away.  Then leave him.  He hasn’t been out since we got here and was blindfolded on the drive in.”

“You don’t think he could find his way back here?”  Lincoln asked.

“Not if we get him far enough away and make sure to disorient him,”  Clarke explained.  “Drive him into the mountains in Tennessee, leave him there.”

“Kentucky would be better,” Lexa added.  “I’ll take him.”

“If you go, I go,” Clarke insisted.

“No,” the Ranger shook her head.

“You’ll stay here,” Lincoln interrupted.  “Both of you.  I’ll take him.  Anya can go with me.”

“Anya will slit his throat and toss him off a mountain here in North Carolina,” Lexa said.

“Provided you could pull Raven away from her long enough for her to leave,” Clarke grimaced, remembering why they were discussing this.  “Take Miller, Anya’s been training him and he’s good under pressure.”

“I’m going, too,” Octavia stated.  

“Better not, Bellamy will have a fit,” Clarke noted.

“Don’t care,” Octavia said in a sing-song voice.

“You can take Bellamy and leave him wherever you dump Finn,” Lexa suggested.

“Bell’s a bloodhound, he’ll find his way back,” Clarke sighed.

“You can’t just dump my brother out,” Octavia argued.

“Then you need to get him under control,” Lexa insisted.  “Every day it’s another problem.  I have neither the time nor the inclination to argue with him every day.  He wasn’t invited here, you brought him, deal with him or he goes.”

There was a knock at the door.  Lincoln stood and opened the door.  Anya entered with Raven who wouldn't meet anyone eye and fidgeted with a book.

“I figured as much,” Anya grunted at all of them in the room obviously having a meeting.  “What have you decided?”

“Exile.  As soon as it’s safe to go out, Lincoln and Miller will blindfold him and drive him into Kentucky,” Lexa ordered.  “He will be left there to live or die by his own devices.  I don’t really care which, just as long as he’s not here anymore.”

Anya nodded.

“Rae?” Clarke spoke softly.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Clarke,” Raven croaked, throat raw from crying all night.

“You get a say,” Octavia offered.

The fire and rage in Raven’s eyes was enough to stop Octavia from pushing any further.  Raven wanted revenge, she just wasn’t sure who to blame.  She tossed the book into Lexa’s lap.

Lexa looked at it dumbly before realizing it was a journal of some sort.  She flipped it open to find that it was Finn’s journal..  His earlier writings were flowery and full of hope.  From the time Raven told him about the asteroid, it changed.  When they arrived in North Carolina his obsession with Clarke was immediate.  

Lexa closed the book, “We need to talk to the others, better to get it done now.”  Lexa stood and carried the journal down the connecting hall to her room where she put it in the desk drawer.  Clarke followed.

“What’s the book?”  She asked.

“Finn’s journal,” Lexa turned and placed a hand on Clarke’s hip.

“Oh,” Clarke stepped closer and hugged the Ranger.  Lexa wrapped her arms around the doctor.

“He was obsessed as soon as he saw you,” Lexa told her.  “I just skimmed a few pages.”

“He’ll be gone soon,”  Clarke said into her neck.

****

Monty had called everyone to the living area.  Raven took over the Watchtower, not wanting to talk about it, or go over it, or listen to everyone else discuss and rehash it over and over again.  Anya was the only witness, and during the night Raven had told her what happened in the bedroom.  In the guilt and breakdown, she also told Anya of her feelings which Anya decided would be best left alone for the time being.  She certainly wasn’t going to take advantage of Raven in her current state.

Anya recounted the necessary facts of the incident and then removed herself from the discussion by joining Raven in the Watchtower.  Where she had to make Raven take the conference room, where a now conscious Finn was rocking in a corner, off of the main screen.

“He can’t stay here,” Harper warned.

“I think all of the women agree,” Octavia affirmed.

“I agree too,” Miller piped up.  “I don’t have a vagina, but not only did he rape Raven, he was waving a knife around, he’s a danger to everyone here.”

“I’m on the penises against Finn train,” Jasper agreed.  Monty and Murphy were nodding along with him.

“You can’t just toss him out,” Bellamy started.

“No, of course not,” Lexa said.  “He’ll be taken several hundred miles away to make sure he can’t come back.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Bellamy narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t care what you meant, he’s leaving, you’re welcome to get the fuck out, too,” Lexa’s voice was low and pretty scary to everyone but Clarke and Lincoln.

“Clarke, you can’t let her throw him out to die,” Bellamy argued.

“One, I don’t control Lexa, she’s her own person.  Two, I was the one to suggest throwing him out.  Three, it was me he thought he was fucking, Bell,” Clarke growled.  “Would you want him here if it was me he raped?”

“He didn’t rape anyone!”  Bell shouted standing up.

“YES HE DID,” Miller roared.  “Now sit down before you say something else stupid.”  Miller shook his head and look at the rest of the group who were all looking at him with shock.  “I’m sorry, I-,” Miller struggled.  “I had a sister, she killed herself …” his voice trailed off.

“She was raped?”  Clarke asked softly.  

Miller nodded and tried to control his emotions.  “You can slit his throat as far as I’m concerned,” he choked.

Monty had been sitting next to Miller and gingerly put a comforting arm around him.  Miller leaned into it and Monty relaxed.

Lexa stared at Bellamy, daring him to say another word.  “I think we’re done here.”  

She cut her eyes at Octavia with a warning before leaving the room.  She stood in front of the meeting room door and stared at it for several moments.  Anya came out of the Watchtower and stood beside her.  “He’s been sitting in a corner rocking himself for the last half hour.”

Clarke came around the corner and joined the meeting at the conference room door.  “Do you want to sedate him again?”

“I was thinking he should probably be taken to the bathroom so he doesn’t relieve himself in a corner,” Lexa didn’t take her eyes off the door.  “Then he should probably be fed before we knock him back out.”

Anya looked at Clarke, “Go get me something to keep him calm.”

The doctor nodded and went to the infirmary.

“If you go in there, he’s going to start screaming again,” Anya said.

“I know,” she continued to stare at the door.  “He thinks I’m hurting her.  Physically.”

“Yeah,” Anya had thumbed through the journal.

“Nobody else thinks that, do they?”  Anya could see the worry in Lexa’s eyes.

“Of course not, Lex,” Anya put a hand on the Ranger’s shoulder.  “Everybody can see how much you love each other.  It’s fucking gross.”  Anya could only stand to be comforting for so long.  “He’s deluded, reality has left the building.  A few sandwiches short of a picnic.  Awaiting the return of the mothership.  The lights are on, but nobody’s home and the kitchen is on fire.”

“I’ve got it, Anya, thank you,” Lexa said curtly.

“If I can’t joke, I’ll join him in Crazytown,” Anya said.  “I’m willing to take him to the bathroom and slit his throat.  I’ll take all the blame.”

“I’m going to assume that neither of you are aware that I’m back,” Clarke interjected having padded back from the infirmary quiet enough to surprise Anya.

“I was aware,” Lexa took the hand not holding the syringe.  

Anya reached across them and took the syringe.  “Where do I stick it?”

“Hip will be fine,” Clarke instructed.  “It’ll take a little longer to take effect, but I’d rather not go in there and he’ll probably fight.”

Lexa entered the override code and opened the door for Anya.  Clarke went into the Watchtower to watch while Lexa stayed by the door.

Raven had put the conference room back on the main screen as soon as Anya had walked out.  Clarke stepped in just in time to see Finn trying to scurry away without the use of his hands and feet.  Anya caught him quickly and jammed the needle into his hip, leaving him screaming and scrambling away.  Anya exited the room without incident.  Clarke and Raven stared at the screen silently until Anya and Lexa entered the Watchtower.

“Turn it off, Rae,” Anya said more gently than Clarke was aware the woman was capable of.

Raven clicked a button and the view changed to the working camera by the solar panels.

“How long until we can safely leave the bunker?”  Lexa asked, sensing Raven’s desire to not talk about it.

Raven clicked at the computer for a few minutes before taking a pen to paper and working out some calculations.  “If the rain keeps up, four or five days with masks.  Visibility is still bad, carbon monoxide levels are still too high to breathe safely.”

Lexa nodded and moved to exit the Watchtower as Monty came back in bearing a sandwich.  “It’s one of Jasper’s Stoner Specials,” he said in response to Lexa’s questioning look.  “It’s Rae’s favorite.”

“Roast beef and potato chips?”  Raven perked up slightly.

“And lots of pickles,” Monty grinned.  “On Linc’s homemade sourdough rolls.”

Lexa and Clarke headed back to their room, pausing in the kitchen to snag some of Octavia’s homemade yogurt with strawberries from the greenhouse.  When they passed Lincoln, Lexa gave the order to take Finn to the bathroom and lock him back up before giving him something to eat.

In their room, Lexa retrieved the journal from the desk and sat next to Clarke on the loveseat.

They stared at it for a long while after the yogurt was gone.  Finally Lexa picked it up and flipped to the date Raven, Finn, Monty, and Jasper arrived in North Carolina.

****

\----------------------------------------------------------------

****

**Selections from Finn’s Diary**

**May 18, 2017**

That Woods woman is dangerous, she pointed a gun at my head.  I nearly pissed myself.  Clarke is very pretty, much prettier than any of Raven’s pictures portray her, she looks like a goddess.  Woods had us blindfolded to come to this bunker, it’s cold and sterile, Clarke’s smile warms it right up, though, she’s incredible.  Raven and I are in the room across the hall from Clarke and Woods.  A very scary woman called Anya is our suitemate.  These people are terrifying and dangerous, if I thought we could go anywhere safer I’d get Raven and her friends away from these scary tree people.

\----------

**May 19, 2017**

I can’t believe this is how the world ends.  I spoke to Clarke today, she seemed uncomfortable, I think she’s afraid of Woods.  She seems to have Clarke at her beck and call, she always rushes to her side when she calls.  I think it must be psychological abuse.  

They went out for a supply run and came back with a blood covered man that I think Woods shot.  No one bothered to explain,  I was very worried when I saw a blood soaked Clarke jumping out of the truck before Woods had even stopped.  I was afraid Woods had hurt her.  Clarke is so afraid to be touched that she elbowed me in the stomach when I tried to help her.  When I asked what I could do to help, Woods ordered me to scrub her victim’s blood off the floors.

Clarke and Dr. McIntyre saved the guy, I watched Woods drag Clarke to their bedroom with Clarke fighting her, but I was too afraid that Woods would shoot me to say anything.  Clarke clearly said “Lexa, stop” and tried to push her away.  Maybe she’s not so beaten down that she can’t fight her off.

\----------

**May 20, 2017**

There was a lot of screaming from Clarke’s room last night.  I think Wood’s was hurting her.  I knocked and asked if everything was okay.  Woods shouted angrily that everything was fine.

I don’t think John Murphy likes me, which is upsetting as he’s the only person here that has less to do than I do.

\------

After all of the screaming and fighting of yesterday, Clarke and Woods returned from an outing covered in blood again and obviously upset this afternoon.  Woods locked them up in their room and wouldn’t answer anytime someone knocked or tried to talk to them through the door.  That monstrous minion of Woods’ said he spoke to them and everything is fine.  I think he’s just a toady.  

\--------

**May 21, 2017**

Even Murphy agrees that Woods is scary.  Clarke always seems so beat down when I see her.  I don’t know why no one else seems to notice.  Woods had her following several feet behind her looking at the floor today, like a slave.  I was horrified.  Later, she snapped at Octavia.  Clarke looked at me like I’m scum, I think it’s because I know she’s being mistreated and I won’t do anything to help. I feel horrible because I think I’m in love with Clarke, I just want her to smile.  She has the most captivating smile.  What does that mean for Raven and I?

\----------

**May 22, 2017**

Clarke looked so hot in fatigues.  Woods slammed into me on her way out this morning.  I tried to get into her room to see if I could find any evidence of abuse, she always keeps their door locked.  So does the behemoth.  I think that means they are hiding things in there.  Why lock the doors if you don’t have anything to hide?

Clarke rubbed up against me tonight.  She wants me, she shouted at me after, for show I think.  If Woods found out, she would kill us both.  I can’t stop thinking about the softness of her breast.  I want to make her happy, I want to make her not afraid.

\------

Woods threatened me, she knows I know she’s hurting Clarke.  She threatened to cut off my hands and dig out my eyes for looking at Clarke.  I was so scared I pissed myself because I know she can do it.  The only thing that sustains me now is knowing that Clarke wants me to touch her.  I want to touch Clarke.  I want to run my fingers through her hair, I want to hold her close.

**** \-------- ** **

**May 23, 2017**

Clarke came to me last night.  She pulled me off of the couch in my drunken stupor and pulled me to the bed where she begged me to make love to her.  I did and it was wonderful.  I don’t ever want to make love to anyone else again.  I suppose I’ll have to continue sleeping with Raven to keep up appearances.  If Wood’s finds out about our forbidden love, I know she’ll kill us both.  Making love to her was so incredible though, the feel of her velvety wetness around my hard cock while I thrusted into her, cumming inside of her was perfection.  I’ve never felt so good before.   

Woods took Clarke out of the bunker early this morning.  I’m hoping to see her soon, I need to know she’s okay.  If Woods found out about last night she could be out there hiding the body already.

\------

Woods beat her bloody.  I saw them come in.  Clarke’s face and torso were covered in blood as were Woods’ hands.  She was crying pitifully.  I’ve stolen a knife from the kitchen.  I’ve got to try to get a gun.

\----------

**May 24, 2017**

The government has been overthrown and Raven’s missile failed to destroy the asteroid.  Woods locked down the bunker, we’re trapped in here.  Clarke is careful to not even look at me so that Woods won’t know about our love.  Woods is very possessive, I don’t know why she hurt Clarke yesterday, but it must not have been about our lovemaking as I still have both hands and can see.

I almost slipped and called Raven Clarke last night while having sex with her, I felt obligated to fuck her so that she doesn’t find out about my tryst with Clarke and tell Woods in a jealous rage.  I just closed my eyes and thought of Clarke and her soft breasts.  Thought of the warm wetness of being inside of my Clarke.  I just want to be able to make love to her whenever I want  instead of hiding our love while Woods hurts her and forces herself on Clarke.  She should know how it feels for someone to treat her right.  

Bellamy has been beaten by Woods, he seems afraid of her, too.  He’s a big guy, if he can’t take her down I’ll have no chance by myself.

I’ve got to do something to help Clarke.  Woods keeps all of the guns locked up in the armory.  I don’t think anyone else can get in there.  I don’t understand how she keeps Clarke subdued without a gun.  Maybe she keeps one in their room.  I’ll have to try to get in there and search it next time Woods goes to work in the cave.

\--------

Woods never leaves Clarke’s side.  She won’t look at me, I know she’s just trying to protect me.  I hate how sad she looks.

\--------

Clarke is so beautiful, I love her so much.

\--------

Clarke never eats meals with the rest of us.  Lexa could be starving her for all I know.  Maybe that’s how she keeps her subdued.

\--------

Lexa keeps Clarke locked away in their room most of the time.  Someone is always with her so I can’t get near enough to speak to her about our forbidden love.

\--------

I keep fucking Raven so she won’t know that Clarke and I are in love.  I hate it, Raven isn’t soft like Clarke.

\--------

More screams from Clarke last night.  Woods never leaves a visible mark, though.  They must have taught her that at Ranger school.

\--------

The only gun not secured is attached to Woods.  She wears it all the time now, I know that’s how she’s controlling Clarke.

\--------

Clarke is so pretty.  When I fuck Raven, I fantasize about Clarke’s blue eyes looking at me, begging me to fuck her.

\--------

She has the most beautiful blue eyes.  She always looks so scared and uncomfortable.

\--------

I’ve got to find a way to get Clarke alone.  Maybe I can catch her leaving her room in the morning after Woods has gone to work the farm.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming Undone - Korn


	16. After Forever

**June 21, 2017**

Four days passed.  Every morning Monty, Lincoln, and Lexa go over the numbers.  The temperature outside is starting to drop, the snows will start soon.  They are betting on a window between breathable air quality and blizzards.  The days are already noticeably darker through the cameras.  The smoke and ash have risen into the atmosphere and started filtering out the sunlight.

Raven has thrown herself into a project worthy of her brains and hands, she is converting the Outback to solar power with a spare solar panel and battery from storage.  The gas left in the tank of the sport wagon was siphoned off into the tank of Anya’s truck before Raven tore out the gas tank to make space for the battery.

She broke down the motor and engineered a new one using a wind turbine motor she had brought inside to study.  She hadn’t slept more than two hours at a time in three days, Anya had to convince her to get in the bed and never failed to wake up with her mumbling and drawing schematics a few hours later.  Anya would coax her back to the bed only to repeat the cycle in another three hours.  Anya was tired.  She would have to ask Clarke to sedate them both just so they could function properly.

****

Finn was still locked up in the conference room.  Murphy had taken to playing buzzing noises in there overnight because as it turns out, John Murphy might be a little sadistic when he’s bored.  ‘Fuck with the Crazy Rapist’ was his new favorite game.  Finn had fallen asleep again after a long bout of talking to himself.  Both Woods and Monty insisted that there weren’t microphones in the conference room, Murphy wasn’t sure he believed it, but it was a shame.  He would love to add dialogue to the only live televised entertainment in the bunker.  He scanned all of the monitors before starting up a little music and watching the rain drip off the solar panels until Woods and Lincoln got up in three hours.  Occasionally he would spin in the office chair to break up the monotony.  It was also a reminder that Clarke had finally allowed him to leave the wheelchair on a semi-permanent basis.

****

At 0600 on the dot, Lexa entered the Watchtower.  Murphy had already been counting raindrops for an hour.

“Sergeant,” Murphy nodded.  “Shit, I lost count.  I was into the millions, Woods!”

“Pardon?”  It was a little too early for Murphy’s brand of weirdness.

“Raindrops,” Murphy nodded at the screen showing the solar panels.  “The Finn Show went off the air four hours ago.  Can Monty install a mic?  Crazy dude talks to himself half the night.”

“Is he talking to the camera?”  Lexa knew Finn had located the camera two days ago and had talked to it for the better part of two hours.  For the hour and a half that Lexa watched he appeared to plead, accuse, threaten, and wept openly.  Lexa was pretty tempted to let Murphy have that microphone.  She had assumed there was a mic in there as well, but Monty confirmed after several hours of digging that there was no microphone and the override codes had to be entered at the doors keypad.  Raven postulated, while taking a metal grinder to an engine part, that Titus had been paranoid enough to want a room out of the Watchtowers control so that leadership could keep secrets from the soldiers.  It made sense to Lexa, her security clearance was higher than most officers and several generals, there were a lot of things the bang bangs didn’t need to know.

“No,” Murphy answered. “Mostly he seems to be talking to the floor.  Possibly his dick, it’s impossible to know without the audio.  Lexa, I need to know!  There’s no more reality television!”

“This will be off the air soon enough, Murph,” Lexa replied.  “Did Raven stay in or has she already gone back out to her makeshift garage?”

“She’s been in the Bat Cave for about an hour already.  Anya hasn’t gotten up, so either Raven finally snapped and bludgeoned her to death or the lack of sleep finally caught up with her.”

“We’ll all sleep better when he’s gone,” Lexa left the Watchtower in route to the newly appointed Bat Cave, the outermost section of cavern where all of their cars had been parked.

She arrived just in time to see Raven drop into the driver’s seat of the Outback and crank the new electric engine to life.  “Whhoooooott!!”  Raven hollered.  “I fucking did it, Woods!  Suck it!”

“I submit to your engineering excellence, Raven,” Lexa grinned.  Raven was more herself than she had been since . . .

“You’re damn right, you do,” she shifted into reverse and rolled back a few feet before shifting into drive and rolling back forward.   “Fuck yeah!  I built a solar car from spare parts!  Fuck Ali,  _ I’m _ the greatest!”

“What in the hell is she on about so early?”  Lincoln stalked up behind Lexa.  “Oh my God, she got it to work.  We’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Yeah, fuck you too, Linc!”  Raven was still whooping from the driver’s seat.

“If she keeps that up, she’ll put the cows off their milk,” Linc muttered.

“What does that even mean?”  Lexa whined.  “The closest you have ever been to a farm is a petting zoo!”

****

Thirty minutes later, Raven was still carrying on in the Bat Cave when Lexa flung herself back into bed, bouncing Clarke awake.  “Raven got the solar car to work,” Lexa said in response to Clarke’s groan.

“Is she insufferable?”  Clarke mumbled into her pillow.

“Unbelievably so,” Lexa affirmed.

“Fuck,” Clarke groaned.

“I’d love to,” Lexa grinned.

****

Monty had been in the Watchtower for seventeen minutes when all hell broke loose.  He had finished his breakfast with Jasper and Miller and relieved Murphy at exactly eight o’clock.  At 8:08AM, Finn woke up and stared into the camera.  Monty radioed Lexa.  At 8:15AM, he started yanking at one of the arms of the office chair he was sitting in.  At 8:17AM it broke loose and he used the exposed jagged metal edge to rip open the skin of his chest.  Lexa had just opened the Watchtower door when it happened.  “Call Lincoln and Harper,” Lexa ran for the armory.  She hadn’t been carrying her sidearm since Finn had been locked up.  She didn’t want it now, she wanted the tranquilizer gun Anya found doing inventory last week.  

When Lexa got back, Lincoln was opening the conference room door.

“I WANT TO SEE CLARKE!  NOW YOU HAVE TO LET ME SEE HER!”  Finn was screaming.  Clarke was halfway around the corner into the hallway when she heard him screaming.  Lexa nodded her head toward the Watchtower door.  “I KNOW THAT BITCH IS HURTING HER!  LET ME SEE CLARKE!”

Clarke had not moved, listening and watching Lexa with the tranq gun. The doctor stayed well away from the door.  Lexa raised the gun and stepped into the conference room, where Finn raised the broken chair arm and brandished it at her.  “SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!  YOU CAN’T LET HER MURDER ME!  CLARKE NEEDS ME!  CLARKE LOVES ME!!  SOMEBODY HAS TO SAVE CLARKE!!  SHE HURTS CLARKE!!”

Lexa put a tranquilizer dart in his neck, he dropped like a stone.  Harper was in the hallway standing next to a shell shocked Clarke.  “Patch him up, but don’t go out of your way.  If an infection kills him, I’m fine with that,” she ordered.  “Linc, help me get these chairs and this table out of here so he can’t try this again.”

“I’ll take care of it, you need to take care of her,” Lincoln indicated Clarke.

Lexa walked over and took Clarke’s hands in hers.  “Hey, he’s knocked out.”

“How can he think any of that, Lex?”  Clarke husked. 

“I don’t know, love,” Lexa soothed.  “Everybody who has been in there with him has tried to tell him the truth.”

****

Dinner that evening was a big pot of chili made with the last of the venison from Lexa’s kill with tomatoes and peppers from the greenhouse.  Lincoln had even made cornbread.  They all sat down to dinner together, it was more common now with Finn locked away.  Monty brought a laptop to keep an eye on the exterior cameras.  They had angled two tables together so that all twelve of them could fit and still be able to interact with each other.

“Where have you been all my life,” Jasper moaned through a mouthful of chili.  “I love you and want to be together forever.”

“If there’s no government, is being married to food still illegal?”  Monty asked.

“Don’t judge me,” Jasper shoveled another spoonful into his mouth.

“I’m not sure if it feels good or weird that Jasper practically orgasms to half the food I cook,” Lincoln chuckled.

“Go with weird.  Jas’ mom couldn’t cook, he grew up on happy meals and boxed mac and cheese,” Monty informed the group.

“Are you saying my food isn’t good,” Lincoln faked offense.

“Not at all, man.  It’s good, just not change my pants good,” Monty said.  Jasper took a big bite of cornbread and smiled with crumbs tumbling off his lips. 

Lincoln laughed.

At the other end of the table, Raven was still gloating about her electric car achievement.

“Now that it works, do you think you can try to sleep through the night?”  Anya had dark circles under her eyes.

Raven’s bluster slipped away.

“Rae, I can give you something that will give you a dreamless sleep,” Clarke suggested.  “Your body has to rest.”

“I don’t know, Clarke,” Raven started.

“If not for you, then for me.  Okay, Grease Monkey?”  Anya plead.

“Dreamless?”  Raven sought reassurance.

“Dreamless,” Clarke promised and Harper nodded. 

Further down the table, Bellamy spoke up, “I want to take Finn his dinner tonight.”

“Excuse me?”  Lexa leveled her eyes on him.

“I just want to talk to him, see if maybe I can help,” Bellamy held Lexa’s gaze.

“Taking Psych 101 in college doesn’t make you a shrink, Bell,” Octavia snorted.

Lexa and Monty exchanged a look, no one else saw it since Monty was sitting so close to Bellamy.  Monty had installed a microphone in the conference room while Finn was unconscious.

“Fine,” Lexa said.  “But I will pat you down before you go in there.  He’s already torn a chair apart to hurt himself.  I don’t want to waste another bandage if he does it again.”

“I’m not going to give him a weapon,” Bellamy defended.

“Not on purpose,” Lexa argued.

****

A little while later Lexa patted Bellamy down and ducked into the Watchtower with Monty, she was surprised to find Clarke there waiting.

“What makes you think I didn’t notice that little exchange between you and the guy I used to buy pot from in high school?”  Clarke raised an eyebrow.  “Monty still has the same 'I got you’ face.”

“Monty put in a microphone,” Lexa admitted as she took a seat from one of the extra ones Lincoln had moved into the Watchtower from the conference room.  She shot Monty a look, “You need to work on your game face.”

“She was into that chili, I didn’t think she was paying attention,” Monty defended.

“Keep underestimating me,” Clarke smirked.  “It works to my advantage.”

The conference room door opened and Bellamy entered with the tray of food and water.  The cup, bowl and spoon were plastic, the cornbread was on a napkin.  Bellamy must have expected the table and chairs to still be in the room because he looked around for a place to set the tray.  He finally bent down and sat it on the floor in front of Finn, who glared at him.

“Are you sure the mic works?”  Lexa asked.

“Positive,” Monty nodded.  “He was singing Nickelback songs earlier.  I’m not sure if he’s a sadist or a masochist.”

“ _ How are you, Finn? _ ”  Bellamy’s voice was shakier than Lexa would have expected.

“ _ I’m being held prisoner by a psycho who is also imprisoning the love of my life.  How do you think I am? _ ”  Finn spat.

“ _ Who, Raven? _ ”  Bellamy asked.

“ _ No, CLARKE!  Why can’t any of you see it?  She’s in pain, Woods is hurting her.  I’ve heard the screams! _ ”  Finn insisted.

“ _ Clarke is not in pain, she adores Lexa.  Hell if I know why _ ,” Bellamy sat in the floor in front of Finn.

“ _ It’s all a lie, Clarke’s being manipulated, controlled.  Woods is a manipulative abuser _ ,” Finn sneered.

“ _ Look, Finn, I’ll give you that Woods is a scary bitch, but I know Clarke.  I’ve known Clarke for years, she loves Lexa.  Nobody else exists for her, _ ”  Bellamy told Finn matter of factly.

“ _ NO! _ ”  Finn screamed, getting to his feet.  “ _ SHE LOVES ME!  SHE WANTS ME! _ ”  He attacked, throwing himself on Bellamy slamming him with his still cuffed hands.  “ _ YOU’RE ALL IN ON IT!  YOU’RE KEEPING HER FROM ME!!!  I’LL KILL YOU ALL TO SAVE HER!!! _ ”

“Maybe Bell will be less of a dick now,” Monty shrugged.  “You should probably go get him out of there.”

Lexa sighed and stood up, leaving the Watchtower.

“This is going to be good,” Monty grinned.  “I should have brought popcorn.”

Clarke shook her head and watched as Lexa threw open the conference room door and pulled Finn off of Bellamy by his hair.  Throwing him against the wall and standing with a foot on his throat when he landed on the floor.  “ _ This look familiar, Bell, _ ” Lexa deadpanned.  “ _ Scary bitch, indeed. _ ”

Monty chuckled.  “Clarke, I love your girlfriend.  If I wasn’t gay, you’d be in trouble.”

“Good thing she’s gay then, huh.  Wouldn’t Miller be a little disappointed?” Clarke watched as Bellamy got to his feet and staggered out of the conference room.

“Maybe a little,” Monty grinned.

“ _ Eat your dinner, _ ” Lexa spat.  “ _ When you calm down, Lincoln will take you to the bathroom. _ ”

“You get to tap that,” Monty grinned.

Clarke watched Lexa sweep out of the conference room.  “Jealous?”   


“A little, Nathan’s hot, but not quite Lexa sexy,” Monty mused.  “Sexy Lexie,” the words escaped Monty’s lips in the exact moment Lexa opened the door.

“Monty, never call me that again,” Lexa said flatly.

Monty cleared his throat and wiped the silly grin off of his face.  “Never again.”

Bell appeared at the door behind Lexa.  Monty raised his eyebrows and Lexa turned to face him.  “Did you need something?”

“Um, to apologize,” Bellamy looked at his feet.  “You’re right, he’s too dangerous to stay here.  I didn’t … I’m sorry.  Thanks for the save.”

Lexa nodded and Bell took it as the dismissal that was intended.  Lexa flung herself into the chair she had previously occupied and held out a hand for Clarke to take.  “He said anything?”

“Nope, just the crying and rocking,” Monty said. 

The Watchtower door opened and Murphy limped in.  

“Do you need a pain shot?”  Clarke asked, having tugged Lexa’s hand into her lap.

“Nah, I’m good,” Murphy waved her off.  “I think it’s arthritis or something, hurts in my hip, not my back.”

“Stabby, creaky kind of pain?”  Clarke asked.

“Yeah,” Murphy took a seat behind Lexa to watch the monitor with everyone else.  “What are we watching?”

“The Finn show,” Monty said.  “He jumped Bell a little while ago.”

“You let Bellamy go in there?”  Murphy was incredulous, Lexa ignored him.  


“You got your microphone,” Monty added.

“OhmyGodWoodsIloveyousomuch,” Murphy hugged Lexa from behind as she rolled her eyes.

Monty caught him up on the action so far.  Finn had been in the corner rocking himself since Lexa had left him.  He finally looked directly into the camera, “ _ I will get loose and I will kill you all.  I will save Clarke from you monsters. _ ”

“That’s not creepy at all,” Murphy deadpanned.

“It turns out, all of that talking to himself we thought he was doing was singing Nickelback songs.  So, you know, have fun with that,” Monty stood up and stretched.  “I’m going to go see what Nathan is up to, you three try not to have too much fun.” 

“Bring me some popcorn,” Murphy called after him.

****

**June 24, 2017**

Raven, Monty, Clarke, and Harper agreed that it was safe to go outside, the doctors insisted that the respirators be worn by anyone who went out for more than a minute or two.  Lexa and Anya loaded a number of guns and ammunition into the car.  Bellamy took over the farm chores for Linc and Lexa that morning.  


Harper sedated Finn with enough to keep him out for twelve hours.  She also packed two extra syringes of the drug in case he woke up before Lincoln and Miller had found a safe place to dump him.  The average temperature for June had already fallen from 85 degrees to 45 degrees.  If Raven’s calculations were correct, she wasn’t a climatologist after all, in another week the average temperature would fall to 25 degrees. 

Lincoln secured Finn with a hog tie and put a black cloth bag over his head.  Clarke and Raven were both safe in Lexa and Clarke’s room watching a movie while Lincoln and Miller carried the unconscious man and stuffed him into the back of the Outback.  Octavia was with them, having already said goodbye to Lincoln and not wanting to watch him drive away.   


Lexa handed Lincoln the map with their destination marked.  “I checked the satellite again yesterday afternoon, the interstates are clear and less likely to be watched than the highways.  Drop him somewhere in the Daniel Boone National Forest and try to get back here before dark.”

“Do me a favor, cuz,” Anya leaned into the car.  “Come back safe.  I don’t have any way to know that there was a problem or an accident.  I’d hate to have to go out there with Octavia and solve your missing persons case before avenging you.”

“So what you’re saying is, if something happens, leave you a note,” Linc grinned.

“That’ll do fine,” Anya rubbed his bald head.  “For luck.”

“Mine or yours,” Lincoln pushed her hand away.  “Quit messing around, I need to get going.”  

Monty and Miller were having a sweet goodbye moment.  “Miller, get your tongue out of Monty’s throat and get in the damn car,” Anya yelled.

****

The bunker was strangely silent after Lincoln pulled the car out.  Lexa resealed the bunker and couldn’t decide between running to Clarke or going to the Watchtower to make sure that Lincoln and Miller got off the property without difficulty.  She sighed, as much as she wanted to tell Clarke that Finn was gone she wanted to be able to tell her he wasn’t even on the mountain even more.  She went to the Watchtower where Monty was relieving Murphy, who had agreed to stay on watch late so that Monty could say goodbye.

“They’re going to be okay, right,” Monty said once Murphy had left.

“I think so,” Lexa said.  They watched as Lincoln stopped at the gate for Miller to hop out and let them through.  He blew a kiss at the camera and Monty grinned like a fool.  “You’re not allowed to give me a hard time about being sappy over Clarke ever again.”

“Yeah, okay,” they watched as the Outback left the gate view.  Monty keyed up the address for the satellite closest to their position and after taking the precaution of making sure no one else was using it, or had used it he pointed it toward the mountain and followed the Outbacks progress.  Before the asteroid, trying to track one vehicle's progress would have been impossible, but between the foliage being burned away and literally no other vehicles on the road anywhere east of the Mississippi, it was a piece of cake.

When Lexa had told Lincoln the roads were clear, she meant it, most of the debris had been washed off of the interstates by the days and days of rain.  Thank American infrastructure for making sure that water drained off of the interstates taking the fine ash and debris with it instead of pooling like on the the highways and byways.

Lexa watched with Monty until they pulled onto the interstate.  “You’ll keep an eye on them?”

“Yeah,” Monty nodded, trying to keep the worry off of his face.

“They’ll be fine,” Lexa reassured before leaving the Watchtower.

She found Raven and Anya in the kitchen, with gas masks strapped to their hips, packing up a day's worth of food and water.  “What are you two up to?”

“Going to replace some of the melted cameras and check on the turbines,” Raven explained.  “We’ll need to get them back up soon.”

Anya was giving Lexa a look that told her not to bother arguing, Raven needed to work.

Lexa nodded and went to the room she shared with Clarke.

Clarke was sitting on the loveseat reading a book and looked up when Lexa came in, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Lexa relaxed at the sight of Clarke.  “They’re on the interstate.”  She sat down next to Clarke who put a hand on her thigh.

“They’ll be fine, Lex,” Clarke reassured.

“I love you,” Lexa said finally feeling safe enough to let her guard down and worry about her lifelong friend.

“I love you, too.  What was that about?”  Clarke asked.

“Just... thank you for being you,” Lexa leaned her head on Clarke’s shoulder.

****  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “After Forever” - Black Sabbath


	17. The Day The World Went Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Implied physical and sexual abuse.

**June 24, 2017**

Lincoln thought if he had taken this trip before the apocalypse it would have been beautiful.  Now it was bare scorched trees on scorched mountains while the sky pissed murky rain.  Lincoln wondered if the world would ever be able to bounce back.  He had had a long conversation about it with Bellamy and Raven a few days prior.  Bellamy, being a history buff and childhood worshiper of dinosaurs, had a great deal of knowledge on what happened when a large meteor struck the Earth.  Raven had a better idea of the science having been at NASA while the scientists tried to figure out how to save the planet from the asteroid.

What he learned was, when the cloud cover cleared and the sun came back out, they would be looking at a very different world.  Flora and fauna would die out waiting for the sun to come back.  If they were looking at 25℉ temperatures under the summer sun, how cold was it going to be when Earth was further from the warmth of the star Sol.  No sun meant no plants, no plants meant no food for millions of species, if there was no food for the herbivores, they would die off and there would be no food for the carnivores.

“You’re looking pretty serious over there,” Miller joked.

“Hard not to when you can see how bad it is with your own eyes,” Lincoln replied.

The interstates so far had been in pretty good shape.  There were cracks and a few of the bridges looked a little worse for the wear, but still structurally sound.  Sometime after crossing into Tennessee, entire lanes had washed down the side of the mountains.  Lincoln was having to dodge sinkholes where part of a culvert under the highway had collapsed and watch for landslides where sections of road had slid away or sections of mountain had slid onto the road.  

“There’s nothing left alive,” Miller observed.

They drove on.  Both shaken by the burnt out hulks of houses and cars.  The sight of collapsed power lines, metal frames warped from the heat of the fires.  Highway signs were scorched and twisted.  More than once they had to pull over to look at a fallen sign to make sure they were still on the right course.

The worst of it came when they rolled out of the mountains and the devastation was even more apparent.  Entire subdivisions had burnt away, scorched skeletons of cars in the driveways.  They came to a bridge over a lake.  An entire lane on the eastbound side had crumbled and fallen away.  Lincoln could see the cracks in the westbound lanes, but it looked mostly still together.  The bridge a few hundred feet down the lake had fared even worse, the pylons and bridge had fallen.  Chunks of concrete were visible sticking out of the water below.

“I really don’t have the time or materials to shore this bridge up,” Lincoln sighed.

“Hang on,” Miller started forcing open the moonroof.  Raven had warned against using any unnecessary electrical features to ensure they had enough power to get where they needed to and get home.

Lincoln watched with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m going to sit on the roof for a better vantage point,” Miler explained.  “Just take it slow.”  He slid up through the moonroof and sitting on the roof.  His feet dangled into the car.  “Can you hear me okay?”  Miller spoke at a normal level.

“Loud and clear,” Linc said a little louder since he wasn’t facing the moon roof.

“Take it slow to start,” Miller tapped the roof and Linc began to drive.  “It looks less damaged in the middle, the edges of the lanes are pretty cracked.”

Lincoln steered into the center of the bridge and rolled on.  Miller glanced up at the sky and wondered if Monty was following their progress and if he could even see him on the roof of the car.  It took them half an hour, but they picked their way across the lake and back onto terra firma.

They made good time for a little while after that, there were more bridges and overpasses the closer they got to Knoxville.  Collapsed overpasses would require them to take the exit and get back onto the interstate on the other side.  Only once did they have to go off road to get around one and Lincoln held his breath and prayed they didn’t get stuck in the mud.  Knoxville was a wasteland,  Sections of it were still smoking in the rain.  Crossing the Holsten River had been less difficult than crossing Douglas Lake.

They took the loop around the north side of Knoxville, ducking off and on again to bypass fallen overpasses.  They tried not to think about the death and destruction.  There were cars on the roads in Knoxville, burnt out skeletons of cars, but cars nonetheless.  Lincoln tried not to think about it.  Miller couldn’t help to wonder if he looked in those cars would he find the remains of their owners.  He was certain that he would and next wondered what Lexa would do.  Would she stop and bury the remains?  Would she ensure they had burnt fully?  Would she do what Linc was doing and drive on pretending not to see?  Clarke would demand to stop and bury the remains.  Miller looked at Lincoln.

“Don’t,” Lincoln said firmly.

“But,” Miller started but was cut off by Lincoln.

“No, they’re dead.  There isn’t anyone left to catch a disease.  Let nature do it’s job,” Lincoln insisted and sped up.  They found their interchange and headed north to Kentucky.  Lincoln had started getting hungry before they got to Knoxville, now he just felt sick.  If they didn’t have a delusional rapist in the back of the car her might have stopped to do something.  But they couldn’t risk Finn waking up.

Eventually they came to a bridge they could not cross.  The interstate crossing a small, relatively innocuous looking river had collapsed completely on both sides.  Miller was looking at the highway map.  

“It looks like there is another bridge just around that bend,” Miller pointed to the bend at the north.

Lincoln turned around and looked for a way back.  It was about two miles of back tracking before they found the exit.  Lincoln rolled into the barren town.  They found a low slung concrete building that seemed to only sustain exterior damage.  Miller spotted a realtor sticker in the small window in the door.  

“Stop here,” Miller spoke up.  It was a realtor’s office, we can see if the maps got burned up.  It’ll be easier to find somewhere to cross.”

Lincoln agreed and pulled in.  Miller broke the heat warped window in the heat warped door and forced it open, finding a stack of maps and a bowl of mints.  He took one map and all of the mints.  It wasn’t like anyone would be looking to buy a house in, he looked at the name of the town on the map, Norris, Tennessee anytime soon.  Examining the map while opening a mint, Miller worked his way back to the car.

“Candy break?”  Lincoln grinned.

Miller handed him the bowl.  “This road meets US 441 and there’s a dam crossing the river on it.  It’ll lead us right back to the interstate on the other side.”  Lincoln picked his way up the highway and found the dam undamaged.

They saw something that worried Lincoln a little.  Houseboats anchored on the lake created by the dam, not moored to the banks.  There seemed to be some scorching, but not much, like someone had the idea to move their floating homes out into the lake and soak them down to keep them from burning.  Whether they had planned for the poisonous air or not, Lincoln didn’t dare to guess.  He made a mental note to find another way back to Asheville, just in case.

“You think they made it?”  Miller echoes his thoughts.

“I’m not sure I want to find out,” Lincoln replied.  “I apologize for being so short, I’ll feel a lot better once we dump him.”

Miller nodded, “Me, too.”

The further they got from the mountains the better shape the roads were in.  Lincoln wondered if the mountains were on another faultline like the San Andreas Fault that . . . Monty had told them that the west coast was now a whole lot less west than it had been before.  He hadn’t been sure if it was the New Madrid Fault that destroyed everything from Jackson, Tennessee to St. Louis, Missouri, to Little Rock, Arkansas, but the extensive flooding from the burst dams and levees all down the Mississippi had finished the job.  According to Monty’s earlier satellite images the Mississippi River flooding sent flood waters up the Arkansas all the way into Oklahoma.  They could use the water, Lincoln had spent a few months training at Fort Sill once upon a time and he would rather spend a year in the sandbox than spend another day in Oklahoma.

“I think we just crossed into Kentucky,” Miller said looking back at a half melted sign.

“Good,” Lincoln grunted, the state of the land was really starting to get to him.  “I don’t think we’re going to make it back before sundown, though.”

Miller looked at his watch, it was already after one in the afternoon, they hadn’t anticipated the roads being as hard to traverse as they had been.  What would have been a five hour drive before the asteroid, had already taken seven hours and they still had at least another hour to get deep enough into the forest and hills to be sure he couldn’t find his way back.  

“See if you can find a way over to I-26 so we don’t have to go over that dam again,” Lincoln suggested.

Miller studied the highway map.  “Who would have ever thought I’d miss Apple Maps?”

“I know, right?”  Lincoln laughed.

They continued in silence until Lincoln left the interstate heading for a US highway that would take them deep into the forest where they would pick a side road and drive until the found somewhere that seemed like the safest place for them to leave Finn.  Not safe for Finn, safe for everyone else.  Now that they were in Kentucky, Lincoln was tempted to drop him off of the next dam.

“I don’t know about you, but being in redneck country is still scary even if we’re the only two people alive,” Miller said after a while.

“Yeah,” Lincoln chuckled.

They drove on, when they agreed they were far enough away from the interstate, Lincoln took the next left onto a county road that led into a valley.  Miller was watching the scenery carefully, the trees were like the trees everywhere else, bare of leaves and scorched, the houses and farms they came across had burnt down.  There were no signs of survivors.  After a while, Lincoln took a right onto another county road.   They passed burnt out trailers and skeletons of cars before Lincoln spotted a deer lease gate.

“Perfect,” he said.

“Yeah,” Miller agreed.  Lincoln pulled onto the dirt drive and Miller hopped out with a pair of bolt cutters.  The lock had fused to the metal frame and he had to go back for the crowbar.  While he was there, he pulled out one of the extra syringes Harper had given them and went around to the back of the car to inject it into Finn.  Miller didn’t think he was awake, but didn’t want to take any chances.  Lincoln nodded at him in the rear view mirror.

In the end it took both of them to pry the gate open with the crowbar.  Miller watched carefully to make sure he could guide them back out.  Lincoln worked his way deep into the hunting area and up the mountain, maybe it was a hill, until they got to a clearing at the top.  They parked the car and Lincoln threw Finn over his shoulder, still hogtied and bagged.  They hiked out into the woods and found a low cliff.  Lincoln cut his bindings and took the bag off of his head and tossed him over the cliff.

“I’m hoping he hit his head on a rock at the bottom, how about you?”  Miller said.

“I think he did,” it may have been wishful thinking, but Lincoln thought he was seeing blood pooling around Finn’s head.  It was hard to tell with the ground being scorched black and the ever present pissing rain.  “Here’s hoping there are still hungry bears nearby.”

“Let’s go home,” Miller said.  “I think I’ve got a good route planned.”  Miller carefully navigated them back to the main road where he told Lincoln to go east instead of west.  They crossed into Virginia after half an hour and begin to wind their way across the Appalachian Mountains.  There were very few bridges so they made good time for awhile.  They saw no signs of life.  Burnt out farms and towns along cracked roads.  Despite that, the air was lighter in the car and they talked about sports since the License Plate Game and I Spy were no go’s.  ‘I spy something charred and black.’  ‘Everything.’  Talking about sports was also a dead end since ‘next season’ was never going to happen.

They finally came across a bridge they couldn’t cross, it had collapsed in on another road, a set of train tracks, and a creek.  Too much span, too high up, to survive the quakes.  They got out of the car and looked over the edge.

“There’s a road over there,” Miller pointed out.  “Looks like it goes over the tracks.”

“There was a turn off a little while back,” Lincoln said.  They got back in the car and Linc put it in reverse backing up to the turn off he had seen and crossing over the median to get to it.  A few minutes later they pulled back out onto the main road and stopped at another collapsed bridge.

“Go back and try another direction?”  Miller asked.

“I guess so,” Linc sighed.

After an hour, they finally found a path back to the main road.  Still with no signs of life on any of the farms they passed.

Thirty minutes later they came to another bridge, it was still up, but Linc had reservations about it’s ability to stay that way.

“Floor it,” Miller finally said.  “The less time we’re on it the better.”

There wasn’t another way around that they could see.  Lincoln backed up a few hundred feet and floored the electric motor, they zoomed over the rickety bridge in seconds, the roar of the bridge collapsing as the front wheels made land on the other side, the rear of the car dipped significantly before bumping onto terra firma.

“My whole life flashed before my eyes,” Miller said.  “My life has been so boring!”

Lincoln laughed  Not a light placating chuckle, but a full belly laugh.

Another twenty miles another bridge.  It looked more stable than the last one,but chunks had fallen from either side.

“Right down the middle?”  Miller asked.

“Yep,” Lincoln had resigned himself to possibly dying.  He reversed to build up speed and zoomed over, right down the middle of the bridge.  Another fifteen miles and one last bridge before crossing into Tennessee from Virginia.  This one less scary than the previous, mostly still held together.  They drove through another burned out, deserted town.

In Tennessee, the highway became more like an interstate and Lincoln used off and on ramps to bypass fallen overpasses again.

It was 8 o’clock before they crossed into North Carolina.  They had been gone for fourteen hours already and still had nearly an hour to go.  Lincoln supposed they could have made better time without the constant pouring rain, but he had come to accept the rain as a part of life.

****

Raven and Anya had gone out as soon as there was light and begin replacing damaged cameras on their way to check the solar panels.  The rain was going to make reinstalling the wind turbines a pain in the ass, but it needed to be done before the snows started.  So after ensuring that the solar panels escaped fire, earthquakes, flying debris, and a stupid amount of rain, Raven and Anya proceeded to the cave to put the turbines back up.  They had two up and operational when Monty sent the drone to tell them it was dinner time and Lincoln had not made it home yet.

****

Shorty after Raven and Anya set out,Lexa and Clarke took two of the Clydesdales out for a long ride with the dogs happily trotting along behind them.  Looking for signs of life.

They had been riding aimlessly for two hours when they came to the stream.  There were still fish, “Clarke.”

“I see them,” she breathed.

“Monty,” Lexa spoke into her headset.  “Can that drone carry fishing line and hooks?”

They fished for hours, the fish were biting like they hadn’t eaten in weeks, which, Clarke supposed was probably true.  Bellamy had brought out the third Clydesdale, it had been rough, he’d only ridden a few times in college, along with three large styrofoam coolers, poles, line, and lures.  Bell stayed long enough to catch a couple of fish before heading back to the bunker with the first cooler full of trout.  He was trying to be better.  Lexa was still understandably wary of him, knowing his predisposition for being a jackass when he didn’t get his way.

After filling the other two coolers they loaded up and headed back to the bunker where they found Bell and Octavia with a book open cleaning and filleting the first cooler of fish.

“You guys want to get in on this?”  Octavia wiggled a handful of fish guts at them.

“Save those for the dogs,” Teddy wagged and barked in support of his person’s order.

“Freeze it or cook it first though,” Clarke added.  “Where do you think tapeworms come from?”

****

Lexa and Clarke cooked since Bell and Octavia were still cleaning and prepping the fish for freezing and smoking.  They worried about Lincoln and Miller but Monty assured them they were still on the move.  He had lost sight of them a few times and found them again since they were the only thing moving in the Appalachians.  He joined them at dinner with a laptop in split screen.  

“I think we need to put a few cameras on the road up the mountain,” Lexa said.

“That’s a good idea,” Monty said.  “Once Raven replaces the once we lost the property is covered.  Having eyes on the path leading up here would be good.”

“Do you really think there are more people out there?”  Bellamy asked.

“If we’re alive, there are others,” Lexa replied.

“Should we look for them?”  Bell asked carefully.

“No,” Clarke and Lexa said together.

“Okay,” Bellamy nodded obviously fighting the urge to ask why.

“The end of the world fucks people up,” Anya finally said, they all understood the reference to Finn.  

Lexa thought about what she had seen when they went to get Murphy’s things.  “It brings out the very worst.”

Clarke knew what Lexa was referring to and remembered the flames coming through the windows of the house as Lexa marched away from it.  She still didn’t know what happened in there and she had decided on the day that she didn’t want to know.  

****

The sun had gone down, well that was inaccurate.  The planet had spun on it’s axis so that the western hemisphere was turned away from the sun and what light could breach the cloud cover had faded into darkness.  Lincoln and Miller had debated for several minutes about turning on the headlights.  They had made it into Asheville, but without filtered sunlight or moonlight they would have to turn on the headlights to finish the trip.  But they knew how much attention that could draw to them in the dark.

“We can just park somewhere and finish the drive in the sunlight,” Miller said.

“This car will stand out too much, it’s not scorched,” Lincoln replied.  “I just hope we’ve got enough battery power stored to get back.”  He flipped the headlights on just in time to see a teenage boy running into the street.  Lincoln slammed on the breaks but not fast enough.  The car hit the boy who bounced back several feet before hitting the ground, knocked out  Miller jumped out of the car.  Lincoln turned off the car and the headlights.

Miller checked the kid over and then checked his pulse.  “He’s alive, but I think he’s got a broken arm.”

“Fuck,” Lincoln swore.

Miller grabbed the bag they took off of Finn and put the kid in the back of the Outback.

“Ow,” the kid moaned under the bag.

“We’re going to take you to a doctor, so don’t try to take off that bag, okay,” Miller explained to the kid.

“Just let me go,” the kid was obviously fighting tears.  “I just got away from some crazy people.”

“We’re not crazy, kid,” Linc told him.  “Just cautious.”

“No one is going to hurt you,” Miller said.

“Hurt me, like hitting me with your car,” the kid tried to get to his feet and cried out when his leg wouldn’t hold.

“We can’t just leave him,” Miller said.

“You feel guilty,” Linc rolled his eyes.

“For hitting him with our car,” Miller spat.

“Can you let me go and finish your lover’s spat later?”  The kid snarked.

“We’re not a couple, now shut up and let us kidnap you to help you,” Miller groaned.

“This is the weirdest kidnapping ever,” the kid groaned under the bag.  “It stinks in this bag.”

Linc and Miller climbed back into the car and took off at top speed with the headlights on.  

****

They got up the mountain with no problems.  Miller watched carefully for any signs that someone was watching or tracking them.  He hopped out and opened the gate closing it behind the car as Linc pulled it onto the property.  He flashed a nervous smile at the camera for Murphy (considering the time, it was after ten o’clock)  and mouthed “Get Clarke.”

Anya, Lexa, Clarke, Octavia, and Bellamy were waiting and hit the switch to open the roll up door as soon as they heard the crunch of wheels outside.  The car died halfway in.  Linc and Miller hopped out and pushed it the rest of the way, letting Lexa close the door before introducing their passenger.

“Linc, there’s a kid back here,” Clarke deadpanned.

“Yeah, his name is Aden and I kind of hit him with the car,” Linc said.  “Miller insisted we bring him to you to patch up.”

“He’s all alone,” Miller said.  “He escaped from some crazies that couldn’t decide if they wanted to eat him or breed him.”

Clarke took the bag off of the kids head, revealing dirty blonde hair and intelligent gray eyes.  She looked him over quickly.  “Broken arm, probably broken leg,” she poked at his chest and his hissed.  “Broken ribs,  How fast were you going?”

Linc shrugged.  

“Carry him to the infirmary, I’m going to need Harp to help me set that arm,” Clarke sighed.  Bellamy helped Miller carry Aden

“How old are you, kid?”  Bellamy asked.

“Fifteen.  Why are you another pedo?”  Aden side eyed him.

“No, man, I’m all about consensual sex with women who can legally drink,” Bell laughed.

****

While Clarke and Harper set his arm and put a cast on both his arm and leg, they got his story out of him.  Considering the amount of painkillers they pumped into him, they didn’t think they were being lied to.  He had been living in a children’s home since he was eleven and his mother died in a robbery gone wrong.  The problem there was she was the robber.  His father was already serving twenty years for aggravated assault and robbery.  When the asteroid hit, they were in the bomb shelter under the orphanage.  Everyone survived the initial impact, it was after the shaking stopped that several of the adults and older kids went up to have a look that they got lungs full of carbon monoxide or got caught in the fires.  

After the first few weeks, there were only seven kids left ranging from four to seventeen.  One had gotten crushed when part of the ceiling collapsed.  Another died of an infection from an injury in the same collapse.  Most had tried to go out and find food and never made it back.  Aden was the only one who had managed to make food runs and come back every time.  One of the older boys had gone out one day and had evidently been followed back to the bomb shelter.

The three men that came promised them food and shelter.  Aden didn’t want to talk about what happened to the other kids, just that they were all gone now.  He ran away the first time he got the chance.  He had been trying to survive, alone in the dark, for several days when Lincoln hit him.

In their examination, they saw signs of recent physical abuse.  Bruising, scratches, cuts.  He refused to take off his jeans initially and Clarke told him she would have to cut them off otherwise.  She suspected horrible things and didn’t press him to tell her.

Murphy was thrilled to hand over the wheelchair he hated so much.  After Aden was treated and his casts were dry they rolled him into the kitchen and watched as he inhaled food like he hadn’t eaten in a week.

“I hate fish,” he said as he wolfed down another fillet.

“Yeah, I buy that,” Clarke scoffed.

“So, how long until I can go?”  He stuffed a roasted potato in his mouth.

“Six to eight weeks,” Harper said.

Lexa appeared in the kitchen and came over to place a kiss on the crown of Clarke’s head.  “You should be sleeping,” Clarke said.

“So should you,” Lexa replied.  “How is our charge?”

“Still hungry,” Harper smirked.

“Do you want to put him in your room for tonight?  He can see if he wants to change rooms in the morning,” Lexa suggested.

“Yeah, that’ll be fine.  John’s in the Watchtower and I don’t snore,” Harper agreed.

“Is John your boyfriend?” Aden asked around another forkful of food.

“No, when we came here he had just had spinal surgery so we moved into the same room together so I could better care for him.  He’s a good roommate so we just stayed in the same room,” Harper explained.

“So, you’re available, then,” Aden smiled with a sparkle in his gray eyes.

“Sure kid, when you’re thirty, we’ll talk about it?”  Harper snorted.

“Worth a shot,” he stuffed in another forkful of food.

It was another twenty minutes of talking around forkfuls of food before Aden declared himself stuffed and was willing to go to bed. **  
**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Day The World Went Away - Nine Inch Nails


	18. Time Will Crawl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the comments. I've had some things going on that impede the creative flow. This may not be a very strong chapter, but I really needed to get something written to try to get the flow started back up.

**June 28, 2017**

The next few days had been quiet.  Anya and Raven finished replacing cameras and reinstalling the turbines.  After their time outside Miller developed a slight cough and Clarke and Harper demanded that the women wear their gas masks while outside working.  Miller was treated with a few steroid injections to speed along the healing process, Clarke called it Apocalypse Cough.

Aden settled into the bunker.  He had stopped worrying that someone was going to hurt him after watching Anya spar with Miller and toss him around like a rag doll.  Lexa entered a few minutes later and dropped Anya in a matter of seconds.  

Aden was an observant kid and knew a few things right off the bat, Lexa was in charge, Monty called her the Commander and it fit.  Lexa adored Clarke and the feeling was mutual, they seemed to communicate very well with looks and barely perceptible nods.  If he were to deign to think such things, it was the kind of love he’d like to experience someday.  But he didn’t so, nevermind.

Raven was broken and nobody acknowledged it.  Anya wasn’t nearly as badass as she came off, she was as soft as a kitten when it came to Raven.  Monty and Miller were a thing.  Murphy was a card shark who also cheated at Monopoly.  He was great company when everyone else was working though.  Jasper was a nerd who talked about comic books and science fiction, and let him sample the beers.  Lincoln looked at Octavia the same way Lexa looked at Clarke.

Harper was sleeping with Bellamy which Aden found disappointing because there was a serious shortage of chicks in the bunker.  He was also pretty sure no one else had noticed.  But since he shared a room with Murphy and Harper and the good doctor was never in her bunk when the nightmares woke him in the middle of the night, he knew she was sleeping somewhere else.  Even though somehow she managed to make it look like she had slept in her bunk by the time he woke up in the morning.  Since he knew Jasper spent an inordinate amount of time masturbating (whatever you do, do not go into Jasper’s room looking for a video game unannounced because you thought he was in the brewery.), obviously she wasn’t sleeping with him.  That really only left Bellamy, who Aden thought was kind of an entitled dick.

Despite having ‘kidnapped’ Aden, Lincoln had fast become one of his favorite people.  Lincoln worked the farm with Lexa but also cooked the majority of the food.  He baked the best bread Aden had ever eaten and Linc always gave him his own loaf.  Lincoln called him a ‘skinny kid’ and would give him extra servings of everything, provided he ate his vegetables.  He would hang out in the kitchen while Lincoln and Octavia cooked.  Octavia called him her official taste tester and slip him extra cookies and muffins, Aden was good with that.

 

Monty had been looking at the signal for thirty minutes.  It was there, he could see it, it was visually rendered on his screen.  But nothing he had in his arsenal could decrypt it.  It was bouncing between three satellites.  He had traced the bounce to Virginia and Colorado.  Mount Weather and Cheyenne were talking to each other.

“Commander, can you come to the Watchtower and bring Raven,” Monty said into his walkie.

A few minutes later Raven and Lexa entered the Watchtower in a flurry.  “You already took apart one car, Raven,” Lexa argued.  “Use those parts.”

“I used like half of those parts already!”  Raven whined.

“Then what is that pile of metal in the Bat Cave?”  Lexa huffed.

“Aw, you finally called it the Bat Cave,” Raven grinned plopping into one of the office chairs.

“What’s up, Monty?”  Lexa ignored Raven.

“As best I can tell, the bunker at Mount Weather and the bunker at Cheyenne are talking to each other,” Monty gestured at the screen where the signal was visible.

“Through the satellites?”  Raven sat down next to him.

“Yeah, I don’t have anything that can break the encryption, though,” he threw his hands up in frustration.

“So we definitely have survivors in both,” Lexa nodded.  “What about Greenbrier, Raven Rock, and Iron Mountain?”

“They aren’t tapped into the satellites we have access to and I can’t get a clear enough visual to see anything,” Monty shrugged.

“Scoot over, let me get in there,” Raven pushed his chair out of the way and rolled into the station.  Within moments she was completely absorbed.  Monty pulled out one of the laptops and started working next to her.  They started muttering to each other and Lexa felt a bit like the an atheist in a snake handling church.  That is to say, disturbed, a little afraid, and completely unable to comprehend what was going on.  

“I guess I’ll just leave you to it, then,” she ambled toward the door.

“Yeah, whatever,” Raven waved her off.  

 

Clarke was lounging on a sofa in the living area reading a book on veterinary medicine, Bo lying on the floor under her legs.  “Just a little light reading?”  Lexa sat down beside her.  The blue pibble thumped her tail at Lexa and continued her lazy loll.

“My girlfriend collected an incredible number of animals for the apocalypse,” Clarke said over the top of the book.

“All by herself?”  Lexa raised an eyebrow along with a tiny smirk.

“Okay, my girlfriends friends collected quite the menagerie,” Clarke smiled. “My girlfriend collects people.”

“That’s closer to accurate,” Lexa nodded.  “Do we have vaccinations for rabid raccoons?”

“Do we have rabid raccoons?”  Clarke raised an eyebrow.

“I think they’re just the regular variety,” Lexa shrugged.

Teddy barrelled into the room and in an impressive leap for a half grown husky cleared the overly large coffee table and landed in Lexa’s lap.  “What the hell?”  Lexa shouted trying to get ahold of the fleeing pup.  Hot on his heels was an awkward, irate baby raccoon, chittering angrily.  

“You may have been hasty in declaring the raccoons not rabid,” Clarke chuckled.  Bo raised her head long enough to take in the irritated raccoon and fleeing pup and laid back down pretending she hadn’t seen anything unusual.

“Rosencrantz!”  Lexa exclaimed as the little raccoon scaled her leg trying to get at the pup who was fleeing into Clarke’s lap.

“Rosencrantz?”  Clarke queried.  The other raccoon came around the corner in search of his partner in crime.  “I suppose that’s Guildenstern, then?”

“Obviously,” Lexa caught Rosencrantz by the scruff of her neck and held the angry kit out away from her.  “You know you’re not supposed to be in the bunker.  What did Teddy do?”  While Lexa was distracted, Guildenstern climbed up onto the sofa and up onto the Ranger’s shoulder.

“You’re starting to look a little like a Disney Princess,” Clarke giggled.  “All you need are a couple of bluebirds.”

“You guys are wrecking my image,” Lexa nuzzled Guildenstern who grabbed two baby raccoon paws full of chestnut curls.

“Hey Lex, what did you name the horses?”  

Lexa looked sheepish.  “Hamlet, Laertes, and Ophelia.”

“Did you name the pigs, too?”

“Maybe,” Rosencrantz had settled down and Lexa scratched her behind the ear.

“Are they named after Shakespeare characters?”

Lexa pretended not to hear the question.

“Lex?”

“They’re named after the main cast of _Much Ado About Nothing_ and despite what Lincoln says, I can tell them apart.”  

Clarke chuckled.  “I love you, you nerdy Disney Princess.”

“I’m a lethal Airborne Ranger, Clarke.”

“You are fucking adorable,” Clarke kissed her cheek and scratched at Guildenstern.

Lincoln made his way into the living area, obviously scanning the floor looking for something.

“Linc?”  Lexa got his attention.  “Looking for these?”

“Yep,” he whistled. Both raccoons looked at him.  “Come on, you know you’re not supposed to be in here.”  He clicked his tongue and both kits hopped off of Lexa and chased after Linc as he slow jogged back out of the bunker.

“He’s like Doctor Dolittle,” Clarke observed.

“Always has been, Linc was the kid with a mouse in his pocket in elementary school,” Lexa grinned.  

“Which kid were you?”  Clarke asked, putting the book aside.

“I was the girl at the top of the monkey bars, defending my territory,” Lexa admitted.

“Ruling from on high,” Anya wandered in from the dining hall.  “Uniting all of the grades against the lunch menus.”

“Baked chicken nuggets are a crime against chickens,” Lexa insisted.

“What about you, Anya?”  Clarke asked.

“You know the playground bullies that pick on the smaller, weaker kids?”  Lexa began.

“You weren’t,” Clarke was disappointed.

“Of course not, I beat up those little shits,” Anya grinned.  “I bet Clarke was the kid in the library.”

“Yeah,” Clarke admitted.  “Kickball wasn’t my thing.”

 

Hours had passed with Monty and Raven keeping their heads buried in the computers.  Jasper had joined them some time ago and added his own incomprehensible comments.  They had refused to leave the Watchtower for food so Clarke and Lexa had loaded up trays of food and delivered them to the computer geeks.

“Do you have any idea what language they’re speaking?”  Lexa asked Clarke.

“I took Latin,” Clarke shrugged.

“Nerd,” Raven called without looking away from the screen.

“Are you three getting anywhere?”  Lexa asked after several more minutes of key tapping.

“Sort of,” Monty said not turning away from his screen.  “We’re writing an algorithm to work at breaking the encryption, while another code captures and downloads any signal that goes through these satellites.”

“So we don’t miss anything until we can read them,” Raven explained still typing.  “Jasper, that’s not going to work.”  They were back in their own little world of coding.  Clarke and Lexa left the food and hoped that they remembered to eat it at some point.

 

Two hours later, Murphy tried to start his shift in the Watchtower only to be turned away.  “No room, no room,” Raven had called out while shooing him out.

“Clean cup?”  Murphy asked as the door closed behind him.  He wandered back toward the living area.

“So, wait, there are other survivors?”  Bellamy asked.  

Clarke, Miller, and Harper were scattered over two sofas.  Lexa, Lincoln, Anya, and Octavia were playing multiplayer Halo, the first one, online games didn’t work anymore.  Anya was gleefully tormenting the others with a rocket launcher from the cliffside in Battle Creek.

“Goddammit, Anya,” Linc complained as Anya blew him up again.  She cackled and sought a new target.

“It would be folly to assume there weren’t other survivors,” Lexa said while trying to sniper Anya off of the cliff.  “Aden is a survivor from Asheville.”

Aden was waiting for the round to end so that he could replace the loser.  “Seriously,” he gave Bell a look.

Bell ignored Aden.  “We need to get in contact with them.”

“No we don’t,” Lexa said as Anya blew up Lincoln half a second before Lexa shot her off of the cliffside.  Octavia took out Lexa from the rooftop.

“Dammit,” Anya shouted as Octavia picked her off trying to pick up the fallen rocket launcher.

“Why not?”  Bellamy demanded.

“Because we have enough resources for us,” Lexa said clubbing Octavia with the handgun and making off with her dropped shotgun.  “Just us,” a shotgun blast taking out Lincoln as he had the misfortune to come around the corner she was turning.  

“This is a fully sustainable hermetically sealed bunker.  It would be considered desirable real estate in any epoch,” Murphy added as he found a spot on the sofa beside Harper.  “In the apocalypse, it’s El Dorado.”

“Also, maybe you missed that the apocalypse makes people dangerous,” Miller said.  “I’m happy to stay locked in here until the mammals come back.” 

Bellamy had heard enough of the story of the day they had collected Murphy and Harper’s possessions and Aden’s experiences to understand the point Miller was trying to drive home.  “Yeah, alright.”

 

**June 29, 2017**

Before the day had fully begun, Linc, Miller, and Lexa were working the farm.  Miller was dexterous enough to collect the eggs without disturbing the hens, Lexa was grateful that she didn’t have to interact with the demon birds from hell.   She shoveled out the pens, moving the future fuel to an area to dry.  The cold had begun to leech into the caverns and dried manure was burning in fifty gallon drums to heat the farm.  Lincoln milked the cows, slopped the hogs, and groomed the horses.  

Raven and Anya came out bundled up and carrying conduit and a few spools of wire.

“What are you two up to?”  Lexa asked spreading the recently harvested manure to dry.

“We need an antenna to strengthen the signal,” Raven explained leading one of the horses, Hamlet, over to where the bits, bridles, and saddles were stored.  Anya saddled up a second Clydesdale, Ophelia, her favorite.  “We figured out we were having a hard time decrypting the signal because much of it wasn’t getting through the cloud cover.”

“Well, don’t forget the masks or Clarke will have your asses,” Lincoln commented.

Raven grumbled but picked up a pair of masks when she finished saddling up her mount.  Laertes huffed at not getting to go out.  “Stuff it,” Raven grumbled at the beast.

Lexa opened the door to a snow storm, “Keep your radios on.”

Anya nodded and rode out after Raven.

Lexa resealed the door and keyed the mic on her radio.  “Monty, Raven and Anya are headed up top to install your antenna.  Please keep a close eye on them.”

“ _ I will, Commander, _ ” Monty replied.

 

Two hours later the women returned to the bunker.  Lexa was alerted to open the roll up door when Monty saw them getting closer to the cave.  She was waiting to raise the door when Anya banged on it.

“Everything go okay?”  Lexa asked.

“I guess so,” Anya shrugged.  They led the Clydesdale’s over to one of the fires to get them warmed back up.  Raven dismounted by the fire and helped Lexa unsaddle the horses.

“I think it will be enough,” Raven said.  “I hooked it into the turbine to give it a power boost.”

 

**June 30, 2017**

It was breakfast time again and Anya stalked up to Clarke in the kitchen.  “What are the chances Raven got radiation sickness working outside?”

“Low, there’s no more radiation out there now than on a normal day before the asteroid,” Clarke said.  “Why?”

“She’s been throwing up for the last couple of days,” Anya said low enough for only Clarke to hear.

“I’ll go check on her,” Clarke patted Anya’s forearm and headed off on the direction of the room Raven continued to share with Anya.  Lexa and Lincoln had cleaned and sterilized the room Rae had shared with Finn before repairing the broken door as best they could, but Raven chose to stay with Anya.  As yet, they had not advanced their relationship, but Clarke considered it an inevitability.  She knocked on the door.

Raven opened it looking a little pale.

“I hear you’re not feeling well,” Clarke put a hand on her forehead.  “No fever, let’s get you down to the infirmary and run a few tests so Anya doesn’t stroke out.”

“She thinks it’s radiation poisoning,” Raven shuddered.

“She’s wrong, but I don’t think she’ll back down until I can show her a blood test,” Clarke grinned.  “It’s probably a virus you picked up outside.”

“Yeah, alright,” Raven followed Clarke to the infirmary and waited patiently for Clarke to draw a vial of blood and run it through the portable diagnostic system.  The unit must have set Lexa’s crazy uncle back a pretty penny.  It was the kind of setup you found in remote clinics, able to detect the most common medical problems in a matter of minutes with just a blood sample.  

Clarke loaded the vial into the machine and took Raven’s vitals.  “Any head injuries or dizziness?”  She asked as she checked pupil response, which was fine negating the possibility of a concussion.

“Nope,” Raven still looked a little pale but had started to return to her more natural coloring.

“Rae,” Clarke started gingerly.  “When was your last period?”

Raven froze.  “What day is it?”

“The twenty-ninth.”

“May?”  Raven asked hopefully.

“June,” Clarke frowned. 

“The first week of April,” Raven sighed as the machine beeped that it was through.  

Clarke looked at the results and did some math in her head.  “You’re ten weeks pregnant.”

“I forgot to get my implant replaced,” Raven shook her head.  “With everything going on it just slipped my mind.”  She sighed, “I guess a kid isn’t really going to affect my career path anymore.”

“I suppose not,” Clarke chuckled.  “I should probably go ahead and pull out that implant though.”

“Yeah,” Raven held out her arm and pointed to it’s location.

“What do you want to do, Rae?”  Clarke prepped for the minor procedure.  She had neither placed nor removed one before but as Raven would say ‘it’s not rocket science.’

“I want to talk to Anya,” she said.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Time Will Crawl” - David Bowie


	19. You Can Sit Beside Me When the World Comes Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the foreseeable future, updates should be weekly.

**June 30, 2017 Continued**

After leaving Clarke in the Infirmary, Raven had gone to the Bat Cave to climb under a car and think.  She did her best thinking when her hands were covered in grease and she was putting engines together and taking them apart.  The smell of engine oil and gasoline always helped her relax.

Raven Reyes grew up in a shabby apartment next door to an easy going auto mechanic who didn’t ask questions about her alcoholic mother.  Sinclair made sure she ate dinner every night and taught her everything he knew about the internal combustion engine.  She helped him rebuild engines on cars for resale and he always gave her a cut to pay for the things she needed, like school supplies and shoes without holes in them.  He posed as her father to get her into the prestigious private school on scholarship, where she met Clarke and Octavia.  When she turned sixteen he hired her on for a much higher salary than would have been standard.

When she got a full ride to NYU’s Polytechnic, Sinclair gave her a car they had restored together and told her not to come back.  Not because he didn’t want to see her again, but because he didn’t want her mother to drag her down, too.  He called every week and once a month he took her out to dinner.  Just after she finished her junior year, Sinclair was killed when an addict attempted to rob the shop and shot her mentor when he surprised the thief.  Sinclair never had kids of his own and his wife had died before Raven even met him, so he left everything to his rocket scientist protege.

Under the hood, hands covered in grease, Raven thought about Sinclair and missed him.  He would have been a great grandpa.  With that thought, Raven knew she was going to have the baby.  She had gone and gotten knocked up before Finn went crazy, so she could remember that Finn instead of the obsessed stalker they sent out to die.

She picked up her tools and stowed them in their proper places.  Sinclair taught her the importance of being able to reach blindly into the tool box and grab the correct tool the first time.  Once her tool box was closed and pushed out of the way she headed to the room she shared with Anya.  

Anya was not in their room, but Raven needed time to organize her thoughts and clean up.  Anya had already gotten on to her twice for getting grease on the sofa and bedspread.  She dug into the bucket of GoJo on the bathroom sink and scrubbed the grease off her hands and forearms.  She paid special attention to get the grease on her knuckles and under her nails.  She followed it up with a long shower while she thought about what she was going to say to Anya.

 

When Anya came into the room she was sweaty from a workout and training Miller to fight.  Raven was sitting on their loveseat reading  _ The Art of War _ .

“Raven,” Anya looked at the book.  “You can’t declare war on Clarke just because she poked you with a needle.”

Raven looked up at Anya and back down at the book.  “Huh?  Oh, no.  I need to talk to you, though.”

“Is everything okay?  Is it radiation poisoning?”  There was concern in her voice as she sat down next to the engineer.

Raven chuckled.  “No, it’s not radiation poisoning.”

“Cancer?”  Anya worried.

“No, Anya, I’m not sick,” Raven soothed.

“You’ve been throwing up for a week, Rae,” Anya pointed out.  “That’s the definition of sick.”

“Anya, I’m ten weeks pregnant,” Raven put a hand on her thigh.

Anya was stunned silent.

Raven waited several moments before she couldn’t take the silence anymore.  “Ahn, I need you to say something.”

“I’m sorry, Rae,” Anya finally said.  “I’m trying to shift gears from worried to supportive.”  She opened up her arms and motioned for Raven to scoot in for a cuddle, which the engineer did gratefully.  “What do you want to do?”

“I’m keeping it,” Raven said.

“Obviously,” Anya nodded.  “I meant did you want to turn the other room into a nursery or fit a crib in here?”

“This isn’t a deal breaker?”

“Why would it be?”

“Ahn, I’m already a mess.  I can’t ask you to co-parent a kid you didn’t ask for when I can’t even get my shit together,” Raven wept.

“You didn’t ask me,” Anya pulled her close.  “I’m volunteering.  You know how I feel, I know how you feel.  When you’re ready, we’ll figure it out.”

“Can I tell the others how cuddly and gentle you are?”

“They wouldn’t believe you, I gave Miller a black eye earlier.”

“Can we just stay like this for the rest of the day?”  Raven cuddled in a little more comfortably.

“We can,” Anya nodded.  “I’ll go sneak us some dinner in a little while.”

They sat quietly for a long time.  For two women who were so well known for running their mouths, when it was just the two of them, they often just sat in companionable silence.  Occasionally talking softly about the things that were important to them.  During this particular long silence they occasionally suggested names, getting progressively more outlandish as they went. 

“Bruce Wayne.”

“Wade Wilson.”

“Darth Vader.”

“Mario Sonic.  Sonic Mario?”

“James Bond.”

“Pussy Galore.”

“Chanandler Bong.”

“Cthulhu Fhtagn.”

“You know what, if you’re going to just randomly summon great old ones I’m not sure you’re ready to be a parent,” Anya smirked.

Raven chuckled.

Silence had fallen again before there was a soft knock at the door.

“Nobody’s home,” Anya called.

The knob turned and Clarke stepped in and closed the door behind her.  Since Finn had been banished, nobody felt all that uncomfortable leaving their doors unlocked during daytime hours.  

Clarke pulled a pill bottle from her pocket and handed them to Raven.  “Crazy Uncle Titus thought of everything.”

“Did he think of diapers, bottles, and baby clothes?”  Anya asked.

“There are a bunch of cloth diapers and a couple of glass bottles down in dry storage, you’re out of luck for anything else,” Clarke told them.  “Miller found a sewing machine in the storage room, though.  Take that as you will.”

“Do I look like someone who sews?”  Anya raised an eyebrow at Clarke.

“Just dissension,” Clarke turned to the door.

“Clarke, can you bring us back some food?”  Raven asked politely.  “I’m really not up for people tonight.”

“Of course, Rae,” Clarke slipped out quietly.

 

“I haven’t seen Rae all day,” Bellamy noted during dinner.

Lincoln had prepared a hearty beef stew and cornbread, their meals were accompanied by tankards of Jasper’s latest beer, a porter.  Clarke had managed to get two bowls and a few wedges of cornbread while only telling Octavia that Raven wasn’t feeling well.

“I think Clarke’s treating her for Apocalypse Cough,” Octavia blurted.

“She doesn’t have Apocalypse Cough, she’s just not feeling well.  Leave her alone,” Clarke said.  Lexa put a warm hand on her thigh and squeezed gently.   She had already informed the Commander of Raven’s impending bundle of joy.  They hadn’t planned for babies, it hadn’t occurred to any of them in their supply gathering.  The snow had started to fall outside and they were going to have to decide if they were going to go out in search of baby things before it got too deep.

“Monty, how are you doing on decrypting those communications?”  Lexa changed the subject.

“The program is still working on it, the antenna helped a little, but the data is still sketchy.  They’re using some pretty high level government encryptions,” he shrugged.  “The messages have slowed down, though.  Makes it harder to find patterns.”

Lexa held the door open for Clarke and locked it behind her.  Clarke moved about their room in what had become their evening routine.  Clarke kicked off her shoes and toed them under the coffee table.  She lit a couple of candles because Lexa likes the soft light and warmth they produce.  

Lexa sat down on the loveseat and untied her combat boots, once they were off she moved them off to the side so Clarke wouldn’t trip over them.   She pulled a warm blanket off of the back of the loveseat and held it up until Clarke slid in next to her, cuddling into her chest. 

“I need you to stop thinking about going out there,” she mumbled into Lexa’s neck.

“We’re unprepared for infants, Clarke,” Lexa sighed.

“For thousands of years, humanity got by without cribs, bassinets, strollers, and onesies,” Clarke argued.

“They also died of polio, smallpox, scarlet fever …”

“I’m a doctor, Lex.” 

“Are we in any way prepared to handle pregnancy complications?  Do we have vaccinations?”

“We don’t even know if we’ll be able to find any of those things out there.  Do you remember what Asheville looked like when the fires stopped burning?  Aden arrived with horror stories of what survivors are doing out there.”

“Then we’ll go to Knoxville if we have to.  Clarke, I have to take care of our people.  I have to give them the best chance.”

Clarke sighed, she knew she wasn’t going to win this.  “If you’re going, I’m going.”

“Clarke.”

“Nope, I’m the doctor, I know what we need, I know where to look for it,” Clarke argued.  “I’ll worry the whole time if you go without me.”

“I’ll worry the whole time if you’re with me.”

“Then we’re at an impasse,” Clarke shrugged.

Lexa sighed.  They cuddled in silence for several long minutes.

“We’re going to need to plan every move very carefully,” Lexa finally conceded.  “Where do we look for vaccines?”

“The health department downtown,” Clarke told her.  “Provided it’s still standing.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll look at the images Monty caught after the fires, see if we can see the building,” Lexa kissed the top of her head.  “I’m going to need Anya and Raven to do some work.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“You’ll see,” Lexa kissed her again.

 

**July 1, 2017**

In the morning, Clarke woke up alone.  It wasn’t unusual.  Lexa would rise early to work the farm with Lincoln.  Anya would ride out and check the perimeter, looking for signs of life, meaning Raven was probably alone now.  Clarke got up, dressed and went across the hall to check on the engineer.

Raven didn’t answer when she knocked.  It was unlocked when Clarke tried the handle, no sign of Raven.  She went down the hall to the dining hall and into the kitchen where Octavia was taking blueberry muffins out of the oven.

Clarke plucked one from a cooling rack, “Have you seen Rae?”

“She went out with Lexa, Lincoln, and Anya earlier,” Octavia slid another tin of batter into the oven.

Clarke took a bite and headed for the exit.  “These are delicious,” she complimented around a mouthful.

Miller and Bell were working the farm, which threw Clarke a bit.  She stopped and her expression must have caught Bell’s attention.  “They’re in the Bat Cave,” he nodded in that direction.

“Thanks,” she walked into the Bat Cave and a Mad Max movie.

Lincoln and Anya were welding a very large gun to the roof of Anya’s truck.  Raven was giving them instructions.  They had taken apart the horse trailer and parts of it were already welded to the front and sides of the truck as extra armor.

Lexa was siphoning gas out of Octavia’s SUV.  It looked like she had already siphoned the gas from Raven’s tank.

“Raven’s obsession with post apocalyptic movies finally paid off,”  Clarke observed.

“That’s what you get for giving me shit all those years,” Raven gloated.

Lexa finished emptying the gas into Anya’s truck and walked over to Clarke.

“You reek of gasoline,” Clarke told her.  “You probably shouldn’t be around that welding torch.”

“Probably not,” Lexa replied.  “Want to join me in the shower?”

“Yes,” Clarke answered automatically.

“Thirsty as fuck,” Raven taunted.  “Go on before someone accidently sets the Commander on fire.”

 

Post shower, post coital, in naked bliss, Clarke broke the hazy silence.  “When do we leave?’

Lexa, whose head was resting on Clarke’s ample breast listening to her heart beat, dropped a kiss where she was.  “Dawn.  I need you to look at the images to see if the health department building is still standing.  If not, we’ll need to look for another location.”

“Who’s going?”

“Me, you, Lincoln, Anya, and Miller.”

“Can we just stay like this for awhile longer?”

Lexa tilted her head to look up at Clarke.  “Of course.” 

 

Octavia and Miller were serving lunch by the time Clarke and Lexa emerged from their cocoon of lust and cuddles.  Aden was helping as best he could with his casts.  They had laid out a spread for custom sandwich construction.  Octavia and Lincoln had been experimenting with homemade cheeses, so far the best successes had been with ricotta and mozzarella.  A ball of basil mozzarella was sliced up on the table.

Aden was constructing a monster of a sandwich one handed and rolled over the oven to slide it under the broiler.

“Hey, you better have saved me some of those jalapenos,” Miller jostled Aden.

“I did,” Aden huffed.  “Don’t know why you want ‘em, you’re just gonna bitch about heartburn later.”

“I’m going to get jalapeno face,” Miller punned.

“That was so bad,  _ I _ got heartburn,” Aden rolled his eyes.

“I’m with Aden, Nate,” Clarke shook her head.  “That was awful.”

 

Lexa was halfway through her sandwich when Monty came in with a laptop.  “We got it.”

“Got what?”  Clarke said around a mouthful of sandwich.

“The encryption,” Monty was glowing.  It was a big get for the geeks.  “I had to write another program to overlay the repeating messages to fill in the blanks from the dropped data.  I’m pretty sure this is accurate.”  He sat down the laptop and turned it so both Clarke and Lexa could read the screen.

“These have been running on a loop,” he pointed at the first five lines of text.

 

“ _ Mount Weather 765 survivors. _ ”

“ _ Cheyenne Mountain 3,304 survivors. _ ”

“ _ Raven Rock 447 survivors. _ ”

“ _ Greenbriar Bunker 583 survivors. _ ”

“ _ Iron Mountain UNKNOWN survivors. _ ”

 

“These took a lot longer,” he pointed at the next five lines.  “Since I can only track the satellite signal we have between Cheyenne and Mount Weather, I can only assume that Greenbriar and Raven Rock are communicating through other means.”

 

“ _ GB:  PRESIDENT orders Ms. Pram to stand down. _ ”

“ _ CM:  Ms. Pram suggests ‘President’ go fuck himself. _ ”

“ _ RR: Contact lost with IM. _ ”

“ _ MW:  VA Gov Dante Wallace in command. _ ”

“ _ RR:  MD Sen. Marcus Kane in command. _ ”

 

Clarke had gone white as a sheet.

“Clarke?”  Lexa grabbed her hand.  Blue met green.  “Talk to me.”

“Marcus Kane was my Dad’s best friend,” she managed to choke out.  “They went to college together.”

“Do not touch anything in my kitchen, grease ball!” Octavia’s voice carried into the dining area.

“Ouch!”  Raven shouted in surprise more than pain.

“I said no touching,” Octavia shooed her out into the dining area.

“Clarke?”  Raven’s eyes had found the slightly green looking doctor.  Octavia turned her eyes from Raven, who was covered head to toe in grease, sweat, metal shavings, and what may have been soot, and locked onto Clarke.

“Uncle Marcus is alive,” Clarke told them.  She waved a hand at Monty’s laptop. 

Both women rushed to look at the screen.  Miller, Anya, and Lincoln could be heard washing up in the kitchen and muttering to each other while they built their sandwiches.

“Do you think your mom is with him?”  Octavia asked, Clarke shrugged in response.

“You broke the encryption,” Raven observed happily.  “I like Becca Pram, she’s spunky.”

“Did you just call the CEO of a Fortune 500 weapons manufacturer ‘spunky’?”  Lexa asked incredulously.

Raven shrugged and Anya appeared handing her a plate with a makeshift Cuban sandwich on it.  Raven had fallen in love with the ham and pork loin sandwich while visiting Jasper and Monty over Spring Break during college.  They took seats across from each other and next to Lexa and Clarke.

“Hey, where are the pictures of Asheville after the worst of the fires?”  Clarke asked wanting to think about anything but her family.

Monty turned the laptop around and pulled up the folder with the images.  He had all of the Asheville pics in a folder together.  Miller appeared beside him with a sandwich and Monty gave him a sweet smile before moving off to find a place to sit.  

Clarke clicked through the images until she found the area by the park.    

“Well?”  Lexa asked having noticed that Clarke hadn’t clicked in several moments.

“It looks like it’s still standing, I don’t see any flames or smoke,” Clarke turned the screen so Lexa could see and pointed to the right building.

“What is that?  Are you going out there?”  Bellamy asked appearing out of nowhere, Harper not far behind him.  “Can I come?”

“A building.  Yes.  No,” Lexa replied in quick succession.

“Why so evasive?  What’s in the building?”  Bell pushed.

“Medicine,” Clarke replied, hoping to shut the whole line of questioning down.

“Does this have anything to do with Raven being sick?  Is it radiation poisoning or cancer?”  Bellamy was obviously concerned.  “Are we all going to get sick?”

Harper shot Clarke a curious look, which Clarke ignored.  “Jesus, Bell,” Clarke huffed.  “It’s not radiation or cancer.  Just let it go.”

“Well then, what’s wrong?”  Bellamy just couldn’t let go of anything.

“Nothing’s wrong, Blake,” Anya snapped.  “Fuck!”

“I thought we agreed, no more secrets,” Bell was working himself up for a fight.

“Damn, Bell, let it go,” Clarke sighed.

“Jesus fuck, I’m pregnant,” Raven snapped.  “Now, can I eat my fucking sandwich in peace?”

Miller, Monty, Octavia, and Lincoln froze.

Bell dropped to one knee behind Raven, “I will raise this child with you.  We’ll tell it I’m the father, we’ll be so happy together.”  Harper turned on her heel and walked out.

“The hell you will,” Raven nearly choked.  “Anya’s already committed to that position.” 

Anya smirked.

“Could you be a bigger dumbass?”  Octavia snorted at her brother.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mona Lisa - The All-American Rejects


	20. Calm Like A Bomb

**July 2, 2017**

 

Clarke wasn’t sure she was awake enough to be this loaded down with weapons and armor.  She had gotten used to waking up to a sweaty and sexy Lexa.  This morning a tense Lexa rolled her out of bed with barely a kiss on the neck an hour and a half ahead of her normal time, handed her BDUs to put on, and led her to the armory.  Since then, Lexa had slung a holster under her arm, one around her waist, and strapped a third to her thigh.  There was a pretty scary looking knife tucked into her combat boot and another on the inside of her right forearm.  A kevlar vest was hanging unsecured over her torso while Lexa made sure every weapon was accessible to Clarke.  

Lexa’s vest was already secured on her person, a pair of swords in scabbards on her back.  She had been practicing with them a lot over the last few weeks.  Clarke would have preferred that Lexa have something with a little more range, but agreed that having a silent weapon was a good idea.

Anya and Raven had rigged up shotgun scabbards to strap the guns to Lincoln and Anya’s backs.  Clarke was assigned to wear a rucksack with a fully stocked first aid kit.  There would still be plenty of room in the ruck for the vaccinations.

Raven was helping Anya get armed and armored.  Clarke noted that there were a lot of soft words and looks exchanged.  She was perplexed by how two women who were so outgoing and aggressive with everyone else, seemed to be so quiet with each other.  Lincoln was already armored and loading extra guns and ammunition into the truck.

“No showboating or being heroic, okay,” Raven spoke softly with a hand on Anya’s chest.  “Mini-Me is going to need you around.”

“No showboating,” Anya promised.

Lincoln had reentered the armory and made kissing noises at Anya and Raven.

“Fuck you,” Anya grumbled and swatted at him.

Miller had tried to join them, but had been sent back to bed when Clarke noticed that he was sweating and checked him for fever.  She ordered him to go wake Harper, it was probably just a cold, but Clarke liked to err on the side of caution.

 

Clarke was riding bitch between Anya and Lexa.  Anya was driving, Lincoln had the back seat to himself so that he would have the space to fire out of the back window if he needed to.

At some point overnight, snow chains had appeared on the truck’s tires.  Clarke was pretty sure Raven hadn’t slept and instead did everything she could think of the ensure the safety of the excursion.  The plan was to visit the health department first and catch the large chain toy and baby needs store on the way back.  They posited that that big box retailers would have been heavily raided already but a toy store would be low priority in the apocalypse and they would have a better chance of getting the supplies they needed.

The snow was already a few inches deep and still falling lightly.  If Anya hadn’t already made so many trips up and down the mountain, finding the road would have been incredibly difficult.  The temperature outside the cab of the truck was hovering around 14 **°** F, which was unheard of for North Carolina in July since the last ice age.  They were all very concerned about tire tracks leading back to the bunker, so Raven had rigged up a brush under the back bumper to stir the snow back up to mask the tire tracks.  It wasn’t foolproof, but hopefully it would make tracks harder to spot with flakes falling from the sky.

The devastation was unbearable, scorched trees, bare of leaves.  Charred remains of wooden structures, people's homes.  Rubble where there had once been a concrete building.  Everything slightly fuzzy through the swirling snow.

As they got closer in to town, there were signs of other vehicles on the road in recent days.  There were clear ATV tracks mixed in with other older tire tracks.

They arrived at the health department without seeing any movement.  The truck engine was loud and they knew if anyone was around, they had been heard.  The building was still standing but it had sustained some structural and fire damage.  They climbed out of the truck, Lincoln climbed up into the back and readied the large gun they had mounted atop the cab.  Lincoln would stay outside and guard their escape.

Anya led their raiding party with Clarke in the middle and Lexa in the rear.  The door was still locked so raiders hadn’t beat them here, but between the lock and the door frame being slightly off from the air blasts and earthquakes Anya had a hell of a time prying it open with the crowbar.  If Lexa hadn’t ordered silence Clarke would have learned colorful new swear words in Tibetic and Chinese.  Lincoln and Lexa already knew them.  When the door finally popped loose, Anya threw down the crowbar and raised her arms in victory.  Then she flipped off the door before drawing her sidearm and leading the way inside.  Clarke picked up the crowbar knowing they were likely to need it again.

Anya paused and cleared every corner and door.  Lexa made sure they were not followed.  

They finally found their way to a locked door that, while unmarked, was almost certainly where the vaccines were stored.  Anya forced open the door and cleared the room before allowing Clarke to enter.  The power had been out for a month, but there was still frost in the freezer.  Clarke said a silent thanks to the powers that be that many state and federal agencies had installed solar panels as cost saving measures and most had hooked them into emergency backup systems for when the generators gave out.  It was cold enough outside that the vaccines would have to ride in the back of the truck.  Clarke found a stack of styrofoam packing boxes and started filling them with the vaccines.  She filled four boxes in cleaning out the freezer.  She snatched a few boxes of gloves and syringes and had Lexa stuff them in her ruck.  

Just as silently as they entered, they exited.  Anya secured the coolers in the bed of the truck and Lincoln climbed back in while Lexa covered them.

Safely back in the cab and on the road again, Lexa spoke.  “Good job.”

 

They were nearly out of downtown when Clarke saw someone lying on the side of the road.  “Anya, stop the truck.”

“Not going to happen, Clarke,” Anya had already seen the form and decided to ignore it.

“They could be hurt,” Clarke insisted.

“They could,” Anya agreed and drove on.

Clarke shot her foot under Anya’s leg and slammed the brake pedal.  “I said stop the truck.”

“Clarke,” Lexa was preparing to be the voice of reason.

“Let me out,” Clarke demanded.  “I have to see if I can help.  You’re all three armed to the teeth, if it’s a trap, you’ll see it coming.”

Lexa sighed.  She pulled her sidearm and opened the passenger door.  Clarke slipped out behind her and waited for Lincoln to get out to cover her back.  The body on the side of the road was dead and frozen solid.  There was a gunshot wound in his shoulder, Clarke was pretty sure between the blood loss and freezing temperatures he had frozen to death trying to get away from whoever had shot him.  Lincoln had already noticed the blood trail leading back in to downtown.

Lexa signaled for them to get back in the truck once Clarke had determined the cause of death.  Once they were settled again Anya warned, “If you try that again, I will field amputate that leg.”

 

Across town, the toy store had taken a lot of damage in the fires. They circled the shopping center checking the front doors and the loading docks.  There weren’t any tracks around the back.  Anya backed up to the loading dock.  Lincoln got into position at the roof mounted gun.  Lexa covered Anya and Clarke as they climbed out.  Anya climbed up on it and took the crowbar to the fire door next to the roll up door.  She stepped in and cleared the area before opening the roll up door.

A quick glance was enough to see that no one had been here.  There had been a lot of fire damage to the exterior, but the back room only seemed to suffer smoke damage.  Anya spotted a warehouse rack loaded with cribs and other baby furniture.  She selected the least damaged items and began to load them into the back of the truck.  Lexa signaled Clarke to follow her out onto the sales floor.  Large sections of the ceiling had collapsed and snow was piling up inside the building.  They located the largely undamaged infants and toddlers section, where Lexa dumped a car seat out of it’s box and they began to fill the box with clothes, blankets, crib sets, cloth diapers, and anything else that looked useful.  Lexa carried the box out the way they came in.  Clarke stopped two aisles over to grab some toys.

 

Lexa dropped the car seat box full of items into the back of the truck and turned to help Anya with a dresser, a bassinet already in the bed of the truck with a crib, mattress, and changing table.

_Pop, pop, pop._

Gunshots.  One grazed Lincoln's upper arm, he grunted in pain while looking for the source of the shots to return fire.  Anya and Lexa dropped the furniture and pulled their weapons.

 _Pop, pop, pop_.  More shots and now the sound of an ATV motor,  Lincoln has located the direction of the shots even if he can’t see the shooter and fired indiscriminately in that direction.  Two ATVs zoomed into view through the open roll up door.  Anya and Lexa fire on them.  Lexa manages to hit one rider, but not enough to unseat him.  When the ATVs pass out of sight again, she looks behind her to see if Clarke has joined them.  The doctor has not.  “Clarke’s still inside.”

“Get her, we’ve got to go,” Anya said.  “I’ll hold them off.”

Lexa bolted through the door to the sales floor and ran to where she had left Clarke.  A package of wooden blocks were on the floor.  “CLARKE!”  Lexa yells.  She hasn’t been afraid in a long time, she had forgotten how it felt.  Her heart thundered in her ears.

There was no answer from the doctor.  Lexa ran through the store hearing more gunshots and ATV motors outside.  At the front of the store, the door was open, Lexa charged out of it and saw ATV tracks that hadn’t been there before.  She looked in the direction the tracks led and fought the urge to pursue on foot.  She ran back through the store and out through the back room.

Lincoln was still concentrating his fire on the original shooter.

“They took Clarke!”  She yelled, firing on the passing ATVs.  She ran out to the loading dock and jumped, pulling her swords, rolling in the snow, she jumped to her feet and slashed at a rider, leaving a bloody stripe across their back.  The other rider changed direction intent on running her down, she jumped to the side and slashed at the same time Anya fired a bullet through the rider’s helmet.   The rider fell off and Lexa jumped on the now unmanned ATV.  Instead of pursuing the other rider she took off to track to vehicle that had taken Clarke.    

Anya jumped off the dock and got into the cab of the truck.  Starting it up she took off in pursuit of Lexa.  The second ATV tried to cut her off only to be run down.  Anya didn’t have the patience for this shit today.  Lincoln continued to fire at the original shooter until Anya slid around the corner and out of range.  She caught sight of Lexa ahead and had to navigate a safe path for the big truck.

 

Clarke awoke being manhandled off of an ATV.  She had picked up a package of blocks and woke up in a parking deck.  She was really going to have to get better at not getting caught unaware.

“Is that the medic?”  A voice echoed in the concrete building.

The person dragging her limp form replied.  “Yeah, Pike will be happy,” it was a male voice.

Clarke surged and tried to grab the guy, he kicked her in the sternum and knocked the wind out of her.  While she struggled for breath, he got a better hold on her.  “Cooperate and this will go a lot easier.”

Clarke flung herself backwards, she knew she wasn’t going to be a match for her captor, but if she could be a pain in the ass for awhile, she would give Lexa time to catch up.  She heard a metal door shut as she struggled with the man.  A few seconds passed before she felt a pinch followed by pain before the world went dark again.  Her last thought was, _Being tased sucks._

 

When Clarke came to the next time, she was zip tied in a chair in an office.  She tugged at the plastic holding her hands together.  Her ankles were zip tied to the chair legs.  Her guns and knives had been taken.

“Are you a medic?”  A gruff voice asked.

“I’m a doctor,” Clarke said wearily.  No point denying it, they had obviously seen her check the body on the side of the road.

“That’s good, we need a doctor,” the voice walked around to the front of her and Clarke took a long look at her captor.  While Clarke wasn’t big on stereotypes, she was pretty sure he was the epitome of an angry man with a short man complex.  Kind of a dangerous combination.  Since he had a gun pointed at her, she felt confident that dangerous was an accurate assessment.  

“My name is Charles Pike and this is my town now,” he said.  “Everything in it is mine.  We have food and shelter to offer you in exchange for your services.”

Clarke held her tongue.

“I need a medic, some of my people are sick,” he said.

Clarke decided keeping her mouth shut was the best course of action.  She had been kidnapped, kicked in the chest, tased, and had a gun held on her, being cooperative was not an option.

“Didn’t you swear an oath?”  He waved his gun at her getting angry.

“Revoke my license,” she shrugged.

“I could just shoot you,” he threatened.

“You could, but that will only piss her off,” Clarke off.

“Who, the women you were with?  I’m not scared of a couple of girls playing soldier,” he laughed.

Clarke said nothing.  Being ignored seemed to really get under his skin so Clarke stuck with it.

“Fine, I’ll give you some time to think about it.  Take her to lock up,” he said to some unseen individual.  Clarke felt the pinch of the taser again.   _Goddammit_ , she thought.

 

She woke in a dimly lit room, somewhere in a basement, she thought.  There were three other people in the room.  Two kids, a boy and a girl, no more than fourteen or so, both had been pretty severely beaten, and a woman about her age who had also been beaten.  Clarke stood up and stretched her twice electrocuted muscles.  Her hands and ankles were no longer zip tied so she moved over to the kids to check their injuries.  

“It’s okay, I’m a doctor,” she told the girl when she flinched away.  “Who did this to you?”

“Pike’s men,” the girl croaked.  “We were just looking for food.”

“He’s laid claim to everything,” the woman said.  “Even stuff that was yours before the meteor is his now.”

Clarke finished checking over the girl, she had a few cracked ribs and some cuts were on the verge of infection, but she would be okay with a little care.  

The boy’s eye was swollen shut and his shoulder was dislocated.  “I’m going to need to pop this back in,” she told him.  “It’ll hurt really bad for a few minutes, then you’ll feel better.”

He nodded.  Clarke grabbed his upper arm tightly and twisted until it popped back into socket.  She was impressed that the kid didn’t cry out.  “You did great,” she moved it a little to make sure he had a range of motion.

Clarke moved over to the woman, “What about you?”

“I’m alright,” she said.  “Just some bruises and scrapes.”  She held out her hand, “Zoe Monroe.”

Clarke took it, “Clarke Griffin.”

Monroe nodded.  “These two are Tris and Atom, they were here when I got here.”

“How long have you been in here?”  Clarke asked sitting against the wall next to Monroe.

“Three days, I think,” she answered.

Clarke looked at the kids.

“Four days,” Tris said.  “It’s been two days since they gave us water.”

“The cavalry will be here soon,” Clarke assured them.

All three looked at her with disbelief.

Clarke shrugged and settled in to wait for Lexa.

 

Lexa was irritated.  It wasn’t just that they took Clarke, it was that they had been riding those damned ATVs all over town and it was making tracking the one that took Clarke a serious pain in the ass.  She had finally tracked them to a block of connected buildings.  There were shops, a theater, offices, and apartments.  Somehow the hodgepodge nature of the buildings had propped them together more securely during the earthquakes and air blasts.  The windows on the east side of the building had all been blown out and boarded up.  The storefronts had all been sealed off, parking deck entrances guarded by armed men.  She was watching from behind a pile of rubble across the street.  She had spotted several blind spots to enter the buildings.  

Anya and Lincoln had parked a few blocks away and were waiting for her to send up a flare taken from Anya’s emergency kit.  Lexa was just waiting for her mark.  

 

The young guard was shocked when he was grabbed from behind and felt the barrel of a gun pressing into his temple.  

“My friend was taken today,” Lexa said lowly in his ear.  “Where will I find her?”

“Please don’t shoot me,” he cried.

“I won’t if you can tell me where to find my friend,” she promised.

“They took a woman down to lock up a little while ago,” he stammered.  “It’s under the museum.”

Lexa knocked him out and went to rescue her girlfriend.

 

Clarke was beginning to get a little hungry.  There were sandwiches in Anya’s truck, Octavia had made her a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich.  Lincoln had made the jelly with strawberries from the bunker.  It was the best jelly she had ever eaten.  He stomach growled just thinking about it.  

She heard something in the hall.  It was so faint she wasn’t sure she heard anything at all, which was how she knew her Ranger had arrived.  A key turned in the lock and Lexa looked in with her swords drawn.  Her face changed from Airborne Ranger to adoring girlfriend as soon as he eyes locked on Clarke.

“I take it back, the swords are hot,” Clarke stood up.

“I see you made friends,” Lexa smiled.

“Can they come home with us?”  Clarke grinned and hugged her love.

“Sure, babe,” Lexa gave her new charges a quick once over.  “The ride back is going to be pretty cramped, though.  Are you guys going to be okay to run?”

Monroe was helping the kids stand.  “I think so.”

Clarke stepped out into the hall after Lexa.  “Holy shit, it looks like a Quentin Tarantino movie out here,” she whispered.  There were bodies and blood splatters all along their path back to the street.

“I let a lot of people go,” Lexa defended.

 

They were crossing the street before the first alarm was raised.  There were shouts followed by gunshots.  The four of them ran in the direction of Anya’s truck, Lexa turned the corner first so Lincoln wouldn’t shoot them.  Lexa was pushing Tris into the cab behind Atom when the first pursuer came around the corner.  Lincoln opened fire.  Anya hopped out of the cab to help Lincoln defend until the others were safely in the truck.

When Lexa closed the passenger door, Anya hopped back in and fired up the engine.  Monroe was lying in the bed of the truck with the baby furniture, trying to stay out of Lincoln’s way.  Anya pulled out and floored it away from their pursuers.  Clarke could see Pike in the middle of the group of armed men, furious.  

A few blocks away, ATVs caught up with them, firing at the truck.  Lincoln kept them from getting too close and even managed to blow out a few tires and cause the ATVs to wreck.  Lexa climbed over the seat and started firing her side arm out between Lincoln’s legs.

Anya slammed on the brakes and fishtailed.  Another truck had cut them off, when Clarke turned to look at it, she saw Charles Pike in the passenger seat, shooting an assault rifle at the driver's side of Anya’s truck.  Clarke could hear the thunk of the bullets and hoped Raven’s armoring job was holding.  Anya regained control of the truck and shot off in another direction.  Their only advantage was the snow chains, the pursuing truck couldn’t grip as well as they could so Anya was slowly pulling away.  They headed north, leading their pursuers as far away from their actual home as they needed.

 

They had gone twenty miles when Anya’s head nodded.  “ANYA!”  Clarke shouted.  She jerked up and stopped the truck.  Clarke saw that Anya was very pale and as her eyes roamed over the woman she saw blood on her left side.  “Dammit, Anya!”  Clarke shouted.

“What’s wrong?”  Lexa couldn’t see around Clarke well enough to see the blood.

“Anya’s shot,” Clarke said.  “Let me out.”  Lexa opened the door and jumped out, letting Clarke jump out and run around to the driver’s side.  There were several bullet holes in the armor plating.  She yanked open the door and saw the puddle of blood pooling under the seat.  “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Trying to get us safe,” Anya grunted.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood,” Clarke pressed on the wound.  It was hard to tell how bad it was with all of the blood.  “We need to get back to the bunker, fast.”

They moved Anya to the passenger seat with Clarke keeping pressure on the wound, while Lexa look over driving.  Anya gave her directions to get to the bunker from where they were.

Halfway up the mountain the sky darkened to night and the snow started falling heavily.  They were in white out conditions, but Lexa had no choice but to push through to get Anya to the infirmary.

By the time they got to the gate, Anya was unconscious.  Lincoln hopped out of the back to open the gate and close it again behind them.  Raven and Octavia were waiting for them.  Lincoln jumped out of the back of the truck and grabbed Anya out of the passenger seat. He ran her toward the infirmary with Clarke running at his heels.

“What happened?”  Raven rounded on Lexa.  

The Ranger was struggling to fight off the adrenaline crash, but took the time to explain to Raven everything that had happened.  

Clarke and Harper wouldn’t allow anyone else into the infirmary so Octavia, Raven, Lincoln, and Lexa waited in the living area.  Octavia cleaned out Lincoln’s graze as best she could and tied a towel around it until Clarke or Harper could bandage it properly.  Octavia and Lexa fell asleep while Raven paced and Lincoln sat stoic.

 

Lexa woke up in bed next to a sleeping Clarke.  When she remembered what had happened she sat bolt upright and spooked Teddy who barked and woke up Clarke.

“Lex, it’s okay,” Clarke husked taking in her panicked girlfriend.

“How’s Anya?  How long have I been asleep?  How did I get into bed?”  Lexa rapid fired the questions.

“She’s going to be fine.  What time is it?  Lincoln carried you,” Clarke answered.  “Now come here.”  She opened her arms and Lexa snuggled into them.

“I shouldn’t have left you in the store,” Lexa mumbled.

“Don’t do that, Lex,” Clarke soothed.  “You came and got me.  I never thought for a second that you wouldn’t come.”

Lexa put her face in Clarke’s neck and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her love and calming her panic.  “What did we do with those people?”  Lexa asked.  “I didn’t even get their names.”

“The woman is Zoe Monroe, she was a chemical engineer before the world ended.  The kids are Tris, she’s fourteen, and Atom, he’s twelve.  They are not related, she found him when she looking for food and they just stayed together,” Clarke explained.  “We’re going to have to do some room shuffling today.”

“Put Miller and Monty in Raven’s old room,” Lexa mumbled.  “That will free up a whole room.”

Clarke kissed the top of her head.  “Go back to sleep.”

“I love you, Clarke,” she mumbled into the doctors neck.

“I love you too, Lex.  Sleep.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calm Like a Bomb - Rage Against the Machine


	21. Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin

**July 3, 2017**

 

When Lexa next opens her eyes, Clarke is asleep in her arms and the dogs aren’t in the bedroom anymore.  The connecting hall door is open.  Lexa began to roll so she could check the time.

“Stay with me,” Clarke mumbled sleepily.

Lexa tightened her hold on the doctor.  “Always.”

Clarke rolled over in her arms so that they were nose to nose and saw the sadness and fear in Lexa’s eyes.  Clarke kissed the tip of her nose.  “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”  Lexa asked, expression unchanged,

“Blame yourself.  Worry,” Clarke kissed her nose again.  “I should have stayed with you.”

“Clarke,” the Ranger breathed.

“No, listen,” Clarke interrupted.  “You came for me, I knew you would come for me.    But I think it’s best if I stay in the bunker until we have time to train me to not get knocked out.”

Lexa chuckles.  “I think we all need to stay inside for awhile.  I’m not convinced they aren’t out looking for us.”

“Pike is dangerous,” Clarke agreed.

 

Raven had spent the night in a chair in the infirmary next to Anya.  She dozed some, but everytime she drifted off to sleep she would wake up because she couldn’t hear Anya’s heart monitor beeping.  Harper was sleeping on a sofa in the living area with a walkie talkie next to her ear, Raven had another hooked to the back of her chair.  

She had been staring at Anya so long that she was hallucinating her eyes opening.  

Then she hallucinated them blinking.

“Are you going to stare or say something?”  Anya croaked.

“Anya?”  Raven breathed.  “You’re awake?”

Anya grunted in pain.  “I thought you were supposed to be super smart.”

Raven jumped out of the chair and hovered over Anya.  “You scared the shit out of me?”

“Is that what I smell?”  Anya winced.

“You’re not funny,” Raven scowled while gently brushing hair away from Anya’s face.

“Yes I am.  Is it supposed to hurt to breathe?”

Raven picked up the walkie, “Harp, Anya is awake.”

“On my way,” Harper’s voice came out of the speaker.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Raven warned.

“I’m fine,” Anya scoffed.

“You are most certainly not fine,” a disheveled Harper said rushing into the room.  The surgeon checked her vitals before speaking again.  “You’re down to one kidney.”

“Well, put it back,” Anya insisted.

“It doesn’t work anymore, it caught a high caliber bullet,” Harper told her.

That gave Anya pause.  “Am I going to be okay?”

“Provided you stay in bed and follow doctor’s orders, you’ll be fine in a few weeks,” Harper assured her while checking her bandages.

“Didn’t I need that kidney?”

“Eh,” Harper pulled off the bloody old bandages and started cleaning the wound and checking for seepage.  “Rae, can you hand me some of those gauze pads?”

“What do you mean, ‘eh’, it’s one of my organs?” Anya winched as Harper pressed the pad into place.

“You started with two.  You can’t really take NSAIDs anymore, otherwise it’s not going to be a big change living with one,” Harper explained finishing up the bandaging.  “I’m going to start you on some antibiotics, I’m seeing some early signs of infection.” 

Harper bustled around the room for a few more moments, dosing the warrior with antibiotics and pain meds, while Anya’s eyes tracked her.  Raven kept her focus on the warrior instead of the surgeon.

Finishing up, she headed toward the infirmary door.  “Rae, she has to sleep and rest, okay?”

“Yeah,” Raven nodded as Harper left, closing the door behind her.

The room was quiet for a long time before Anya broke the silence.  “Raven.”

“You promised me,” Raven said softly.

“I wasn’t showboating, I was surviving,” Anya sighed.

“I need you here with me, Ahn.”

“I’m here, I came back.  I’m going to be okay,” Anya reached for Raven’s hand.  “You don’t even have to build me any bionic parts.”

“I’m going to make a shock collar to keep you in the bunker,” Raven groused.

“Kinky, I could get into that.”

“Shut up.”

“Can you make it nipple clamps, though, instead of a collar?  I could get into that,” Anya teased.

“Shut up, you freak.”

“You brought it up.  What about blindfolds?  Whips?”

“Anya!”  Raven was both embarrassed and exasperated.

“Aw, are you embarrassed?  Role playing!  You can be the naughty nurse!”

“Anya, stop it!”

“Make me, naughty nurse.”

Raven bent forward and kissed Anya hard.  “Now stop it!”

“Yes, ma’am,” a stunned Anya replied.

“You could have died,” Raven said.

“I prefer not to dwell on my mortality,” Anya said.  “I’d rather talk about that kiss.”

“Rest,” Raven ordered.  “We’ll talk about it when you aren’t high on pain meds.”

 

After a few life affirming orgasms and a shared shower, Clarke and Lexa emerged from their room headed to the infirmary to check on Anya.  They heard the voices long before they got to Harper’s door.

“Harper, stop ignoring me,” Bellamy’s voice carried.  “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Dude, I’m trying to get some shut eye, get out.  She obviously doesn’t have anything to say to you,” Murphy’s voice came down the hall.

“Stay out of it, Murphy,” Bellamy growled.

Lexa picked up her pace.

“It’s my room, man,  _ you _ get out of it,” Murphy ordered.

Lexa stepped up behind Bellamy just inside the door of the room Harper, Murphy, and Aden shared.  “Is there a problem?”  Clarke was behind her in the hall.  Having heard his person, Teddy came out of the kitchen and trotted down the hall to stand by Clarke.  Bo appeared moments later and rubbed her face on Clarke’s leg.

“Yeah, get his dumb ass out of here so I can sleep,” Murphy complained.

Lexa pushed her way around Bellamy and looked at Harper who was busily folding and putting away her laundry.  “Harper?”

“I’m done talking to him,” she said without looking away from her laundry.

Lexa turned and pushed Bellamy out into the hall, “You heard the doctor.”

“You need to stay out of it,” Bellamy snarled.  Teddy slipped between Lexa and Bellamy and watched him carefully.

“Ah, well, it’s my bunker, Bell.  So everything that happens here is my business.  I think we’ve had this conversation before,” Lexa closed and secured the door behind her.  Effectively cutting him off from Harper.

“My relationships are none of your business,” Bellamy huffed.  

“They are when you’re doing that thing where you try to force yourself on someone that is no longer interested in your advances.”

Bellamy punched the door and cried out in pain.

Clarke sighed audibly.  “You jackass,” Clarke took his hand and examined it.  “It’s not broken.  Go put some ice on it.”

Bellamy stalked off toward the kitchen as Clarke and Lexa turned toward the infirmary, Teddy and Bo followed after them.  “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to put up with him.”  

“I know,” Clarke sighed.  “I thought by now he would have settled down.”

“If he puts us at risk, I have to put him down.”

“I know, Lex.”

Clarke opened the infirmary door.  Raven had been dozing in her chair but woke at the door opening.  Lexa stepped in and looked at Anya asleep in the bed.  Clarke looked over Anya’s chart.  Teddy waited in the hall.  Bo came in and rubbed against Raven, who scratched absently at her short gray coat.

“She’s going to be okay, Lex,” Clarke told the Ranger.

Anya’s eyes opened slowly and she blinked at Lexa.  “Lex, your girlfriend took my kidney.  Make her give it back.”  

Clarke reached for a jar on the cabinet behind her.  It contained Anya’s destroyed left kidney and the bullet that did the damage in formaldehyde.  “It’s right here.  You can have it when you can walk without pulling a stitch.”  She handed the jar to Lexa who examined the contents curiously.

“That’s a .308, we’re lucky there were two layers of metal between you and it,” Lexa observed.

“What does that mean?”  Raven asked.

“It means that Pike’s got military grade hardware,” Lexa told her replacing the jar where Clarke had gotten it.

“We’re going to have to go back out there and deal with him,” Anya groaned.

“I think it’s for the best if we stay locked in for awhile,” Lexa said.  Anya looked like she was going to protest.  “No, you’re shot, Lincoln’s shot, Miller’s got the flu,” she looked to Clarke for confirmation.  “If he’s got the flu, we could all have it in a matter of days.  We’ve got three severely banged up teenagers.  Murphy is still not fully recovered.  We need to stay locked in until everyone is at one hundred percent.”

“What if he comes for us, Lex?”  Anya grunted.  Clarke opened the cabinet to get another dose of painkillers.

“Then we’ll deal with it,” the Ranger said simply.

“Boomy traps,” Raven suggests.

“Don’t you mean booby traps?”  Clarke asked.

“You’re just obsessed with boobs.  I mean BOOM-y traps,” Raven mimicked an explosion with her hands.

“We’ve got a few cases of claymores,” Lexa hoped she didn’t regret informing Raven of the mines.  “There are a lot of grenades, too.”

Raven got a manic gleam in her eye.

 

Anya was sleeping, Raven was in the Watchtower with Monty laying plans to protect the bunker against exterior assault.  Harper locked herself in the infirmary with Anya and a few medical books.  

Bellamy and Lincoln moved Monty and Miller into Raven’s old room before moving Miller himself.  Monroe, Tris, and Atom were already installed in the room Miller had been living in with regular overnight visits from Monty.

Monroe, Tris, and Atom were under Aden’s supervision.  Monroe and Tris traded off pushing his wheelchair, Atom’s arm was in a sling so he was unable to control the chair.  Aden had gotten pretty good at moving it around one handed, but he enjoyed having women spoil him.  He had taken them on a tour of the main floor and farm.  Jasper promised he would show them the garden after lunch.

Clarke and Lexa found them playing Monopoly in the main living area.

Clarke checked Atom’s shoulder first, then she prodded at Tris’ ribs through her shirt.

“You should get used to that,” Aden snorted.  “I get poked and prodded six times a day.”

“I don’t check you that often,” Clarke scoffed.

“Not just you, there’s Harper, Octavia, Raven, Miller, and the Commander,” Aden complained.  “Everyone pokes and prods me.  At least Octavia gives me cookies after.”

“Are there cookies?”  Lexa raised an eyebrow.

Aden grinned and nodded.  “Chocolate sugar cookies.”

Lexa grinned and slipped out of the room with the stealth and speed of an Army Ranger.

Aden grinned, having seen Lexa slip away, Clarke noted Aden’s grin and looked for Lexa who had vanished.

“She’s something else,” Monroe observed.

Clarke grinned.  “Yeah, she is.”

“Can she teach me to sword fight?”  Tris asked.

“You’ll have to ask her,” Clarke replied.

“When I get these casts off, Anya’s going to teach me to fight,” Aden puffed his chest out.

“It’s going to be a long time before Anya can start tossing people around again,” Clarke told him.  “You might have to start training with Miller and work your way up.”

Atom rolled the dice and went directly to jail.  He groaned, Tris laughed at him.  By the time Tris had finished her turn, Lexa had returned with two handfuls of cookies and one in her mouth, Teddy was at her heels.

“Does Octavia know you have all of those, Cookie Monster?”  Clarke indicated the handfuls of cookies.

Lexa shook her head and grinned around the cookie in her mouth.

“That’s my badass, bomb diffusing, Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger girlfriend right there,” Clarke chuckled.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her work,” Monroe nodded.

Teddy barked.

Lexa shook her head and swallowed the cookie.  “Chocolate is bad for dogs.”

Teddy barked twice.

“What did I just say?”  Lexa gave him a look.

The husky barked again.

“We’ve talked about this, Teddy,” Lexa admonished.

Teddy barked several times.

“You know, my dog doesn’t sass me,” Clarke laughed.

“Everybody gets a cookie except Teddy and Clarke,” Lexa distributed cookies to the kids and Monroe.  

She had one left and handed it to Clarke.

“I thought I didn’t get a cookie,” Clarke grinned.

“I love you even though you sass me,” Teddy barked at her.  “What did we talk about?”

 

 

**July 6th, 2017**

 

After three days in the infirmary, Clarke and Harper agreed to let Anya return to her own bed where Raven could fuss over her in the privacy of their own room.  Clarke had walked in on one too many kisses and one too many hushed conversations about feelings to feel comfortable forcing them to stay in the infirmary.  

While Anya slept, Raven drew up plans for bombs and traps.  Raven would build the bombs and traps and Lexa and Lincoln would place them. 

Monty was closely monitoring all radio signals in the Asheville area.  The cloud cover was so thick that the video from satellite feeds were useless.  The drones were useless, the snow had been falling heavily and steadily since they returned from their last outing.  Lincoln measured it at twenty-two inches that morning. 

Monty had picked up several radio signals.  From the strength they deduced that they were using military grade equipment and signal boosters.  Pike was looking for them, seeking retribution and domination.  Thanks to Anya, they were looking in the mountains north of the city.  Monty had formed a lot of opinions about Charles Pike and his people, all of those opinions were bad.  They joked about atrocities, killed, raped, and pillaged.  Monty wished he had a missile to launch into their compound.  The apocalypse had created monsters and they all flocked to Pike.

Miller had recovered from the flu, but Aden, Tris, and Atom had all come down with it.  The other adults considered themselves lucky that they had escaped it, even Monty who had been grumpy the days Nate was ill.

Lexa and Lincoln had taken to sparring with each other to try to work off some of their frustrations.  They had heard many of the conversations between Pike’s men.  Both of them would have preferred to go on the offensive, but circumstances were such that they had to lay low and play defense.  

 

Night had fallen, although to be honest, it was getting harder to tell the difference.  Lexa and Clarke were shooting a game of eight ball with Lincoln and Octavia in the game room.

“ _ Hey Commander, I need you in the Watchtower, _ ” Murphy’s voice came over the game room intercom.

The four of them exchanged glances and then went as a group to the room next door.  Lexa keyed in the code and they squeezed in.

“What’s up, Murph?”  Lexa pulled out a chair and sat down.

Murphy pressed a key and a recorded a voice delivered a message.   _ “This is Sergeant First Class Indra Washington, United States Army.  I am with a team of survivors at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.  We are seeking entrance in a more secure location.  We can offer food and supplies.  Please respond.  Message repeats.” _

Lexa looked stoic and emotionless except for a jaw twitch that Clarke and Lincoln knew meant she was feeling very strong emotions at hearing her friend's voice. 

“It’s on a loop, the signal is pretty weak, but I thought you would want to know your battle buddy was out there,” Murphy told her keying off the repeat.

“We need to send a secure signal back,” Lexa said.  “How long has this been running?”

“I don’t know,” Murphy said.  “The signal bounced pretty far, so it may have been running for weeks.”

“Can you target it?”  Linc asked.

“Already did, but if you want to reply you’re going to need to come up with a way to code they messages,” Murphy shrugged.  “That’s really more of a Monty and Raven thing.”

 

**July 7th, 2017**

 

Morning dawned with a flurry of activity in the Watchtower.  Lexa, Raven, and Monty had been up all night.

“Indra, it’s good to hear your voice.  I appreciate the save.  Coordinates of our last drop,” Lexa read into the microphone.

Monty typed and clicked for a moment.  “Okay, now it’s a package and we are broadcasting.”

“How are we sending data out on radio waves?”  Lexa asked.

“Are you going to understand it if I explain it?”  Monty asked.

“Probably not,” Lexa replied.  “We’re taking a lot on faith here.”

“I can’t think of any other way to make first contact without risking our security,” Monty shrugged.  “I’m hoping including the sound of an old modem connecting will give them a hint to plug the signal into a computer.”  

 

Hours passed, Lexa and Monty dozed in the Watchtower, Miller and Clarke watched the screens.  Everyone was on high alert with Pike out there, no one was willing to let the screens go unwatched.

The console chimed.  Monty shot up out of his chair and pressed a key.  “The connection is secure.”

“ _ Woods? _ ”  Indra’s voice came out of the console.

“Indra!”  Lexa smiled.

“ _ The last time I saw you, you were smoking, _ ” Lexa could hear the smile in Indra’s words. 

“Literally,” Lexa chuckled.  “We’ve got a secure location.  How many in your group?”

“ _ There are nine of us, and we have a Black Hawk, _ ” Indra replied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin - The Runaways


	22. Under Pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I had a hard time deciding what went here and what went into the next chapter.

**July 27, 2017**

 

Three weeks had passed.  Lexa and Indra have talked many times.  They have agreed that the Black Hawk would certainly be an asset and a really great way to travel, but the current white out conditions make any kind of travel impossible.  The last time Lincoln measured the snow it was well over four feet deep.  The dogs had dug a tunnel out to their favorite tree.

The remaining foundation of Titus’ hunting cabin would serve as an acceptable helipad, after they implemented further security measures on the mountain top.  Anya had raised serious questions about the noise and attention the helicopter would bring.

Monty’s monitoring of the radio signals bouncing around the city indicated that they were still searching for the Doctor and her sword wielding girlfriend.  He wondered how much longer their gas supplies would last.  He had been holding out hope that they would give up the search, but Clarke and Lexa seemed to be Pike’s White Whale.  Lexa had made it very clear to Monty that she did not appreciate being referred to as Commander Moby Dick, especially regarding her personal opinions on dicks in general.

 

They had waited for the moment that the white out conditions ceased long enough for the Black Hawk to fly the three hundred miles between Fort Campbell and Asheville.  Indra had enough crew to fly two Black Hawks over.  Over the preceding weeks they had formed a plan, they were going to use the second one as a distraction to land the first.  

Monty and Raven had been working on a system to allow Monty to fly the second Black Hawk like a drone over the city and wreak havoc before flying off towards the newly created beach front property near Charlotte.  Where, ideally, they could crash the helicopter in an unrecoverable position.

Indra launched the two helicopters in Kentucky.  Raven, Monty, Lincoln, Lexa. Miller, and Bellamy started up the long staircase to the cabin, going over the plan again.  The decoy helicopter, loaded with supplies would land on the cabin foundation.  Linc, Lexa. Miller, and Bell would unload the supplies onto the stairs while Raven and Monty installed the necessary components to remotely control the Black Hawk.  The second Black Hawk, carrying Indra’s other six survivors would come in slower and circle until Monty and Raven were ready to launch the decoy.

Lexa unsealed the door and walked up the concrete stairs.  She had been up there a lot over the last three weeks.  With Anya still on light duty on pain of death, Lexa had been standing in as Raven’s muscle while she installed the new security measures for the helipad.  Raven was grumpy because Lexa didn’t argue and bicker with her like Anya did.  The engineer had taken to mocking Lexa in hopes that she could at least get a rise out of the Ranger.  Lexa was enjoying an increasingly frustrated Raven getting more and juvenile in her taunts.

Lexa no longer found the scorched and bare trees disconcerting.  Now they were the new normal.  She was still annoyed by the temperature, new normal or not, sixteen degrees in July was not acceptable.  The air was so humid and cold that it went all the way into your bones, she had yet to put on enough insulating layers to not feel cold.  Breathing the cold air in made her lungs ache.  The Ranger wondered why any civilization would ever want to settle somewhere cold and frozen.  The vikings exploration and conquests seemed a lot more reasonable after living in a frozen wasteland for a few weeks.

Raven and Monty were fidgeting with their remote computer, bickering.  Miller was scanning the forest.  Lexa knew there was nothing to see.  The only tracks in the snow belong to them.  There weren’t even any bird tracks disturbing the layer of white.  Bellamy had spent very little time outside since the meteor hit, confusion and worry were evident on his face.  His kind didn’t do well on the battlefield or in the apocalypse.  

Anya and Clarke were in the Watchtower.  Anya was increasingly frustrated at not being able to _do_ anything,  Clarke and Harper were letting her walk around, but had ended up hiding all of her footwear to keep her from stepping out of the bunker.  This had led to a shouting match that Lexa had to break up and Anya had made some rather graphic threats that Lexa wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t follow through on.  To be safe, Clarke spent an hour a day in self-defense training with Miller and Octavia.  

 _“Hey Commander Sexy, the first bird is on the radar,”_ Clarke’s voice purred from her headset.

 _“Oh, for fucks sake, Blondie,”_ Anya’s eye roll was actually audible over the walkie.   _“Keep it in your damn pants!”_

 _“I will jam this pencil into your bullet hole,”_ Clarke threatened.

“Are you two aware that you have a hot mic?” Monty spoke beside Lexa where he was making some final adjustments on an iPad.

The sound of a Black Hawk on approach rose above the whistling of the wind.  Lexa peered through the bare trees to see if she could spot the helicopter in the distance.  It was another minute or two before it was loud enough to catch everyone’s attention.  By then, Lexa could see it coming in.  Another minute passed and the chopper was hovering above the clearing and beginning to drop down to the pad.  As soon as the skids touched the ground, the motor cut off, the blades spun to a stop as the unloading team pulled open the door and started unloading the supplies at top speed.  

Lexa spotted Indra in the co-pilot’s seat, a large soldier Lexa didn’t recognize was at the stick.  Indra climbed out between Bellamy grabbing a fifty pound bag of flour and Lincoln grabbing a case of ammunition.

“Woods,” Indra smiled opening her arms for a hug.

“Washington,” Lexa grinned hugging her superior.  

“This is Chief Warrant Officer Gustus Baumgartner,” Indra indicated the large man hopping out of the Black Hawk.

Lexa snapped to salute. “Good to meet you, Mr. Baumgartner.”

“At ease, Woods, we’re all civilians now,” Gustus told her and held out a hand to shake.  The Ranger shook his hand before joining the crew unloading the supplies.  Raven and Monty were already in the cockpit splicing the laptop into the electrical system.  

A few minutes later the Black Hawk was unloaded and Monty and Raven were hard at work installing their drone system.

 _“Lex, the second Black Hawk is on the radar,”_ Anya’s voice came through her earpiece.

 _“You guys know we don’t actually have radar, right?”_  Monty told them.

 _“‘The infra red perimeter alarms you built into the satellite’ is a lot to say,”_ Clarke defended.

“How are you doing in there?”  Lexa leaned her head into the open door.

“Five more minutes,” Raven shouted from under the console.

“Closer to ten,” Monty said typing.

Lexa took the time to introduce Indra and Gustus to the team on the mountain top.  The second Black Hawk was close enough to hear over the wind.

 _“Trikru two to Trikru one,”_ a voice burst over the Black Hawk’s radio.

Monty picked up the receiver, “This is Tree Crew one.”

 _“We’re seeing movement in the city, four wheelers coming this direction,”_ the voice informed.

“Fuck,” Monty swore.  “COMMANDER!”

Lexa had heard the radio and had already climbed into the helicopter with a hand out for the mic.  “Trikru two, how many bogies?”

 _“I see four ATVs, there are at least two trucks,”_ the voice replied.

“We’ve got incoming,” Lexa called out to the team on the helipad.  She thumbed open the walkie channel.  “The second Black Hawk is reporting incoming from Asheville.”

 _“Fuck,”_ Anya swore loudly.

Lincoln and Bell dashed to the door, there was a large stash of weapons just in case this happened.  They began distributing assault rifles.  Lincoln shouldered a grenade launcher and handed Lexa a sniper rifle.  The Ranger slung the rifle over her shoulder and climbed the sturdiest of the southern pine trunks as far up as she could get.  The height afforded her a slightly obstructed view of the city.  She brought up the rifle and peered through the scope, scanning the city.  It didn’t take long to spot the first ATV.  They were definitely headed in their direction.

“Lex, we’re getting a lot of radio traffic from Pike’s men,” Anya said in her ear.  “None of it is good.  Shoot to kill.”

“Roger,” Lexa replied.  The distance was too far for Lexa to get any kill shots, she could hear a lot of commotion below her on the helipad.  She couldn’t spare any focus to it as she tracked the enemy in her scope.  

 

Raven was working as fast as she could, but it wasn’t going well.  Monty was speaking to the other Black Hawk on the radio, she couldn’t spare the attention.  

“Raven,” Monty shouted.

“What?!”  She shouted back trying to bypass the security system.

“We need to get inside,” Monty tugged at her ankle.

“It’s not done,” Raven said distractedly.

“We’re under attack, Rae, we have to get inside the bunker!”  Monty shook her hard.

“We’re what?!”  Raven sat up quickly and whacked her head on the console.  She looked out of the helicopter.  There were three new faces on the ground and she could hear a motor flying away.  “Where did they come from?”  There were two men and a woman.

“They rappelled out of the Black Hawk, it was awesome,” Monty told her.  “We need to get inside.  The mission has changed,”

 

“WOODS!  GET DOWN HERE!”  Indra shouted up at Lexa in the tree.  The Ranger had only just noticed a Black Hawk flying toward the city.  The helicopter moved fast enough that she had a hard time focusing on it through the scope.  What she was sure of, though, there were people in the helicopter.

“WHO’S IN THAT BIRD?”  Lexa yelled without looking away from the helicopter.  There was someone at the door mounted M134 getting into position on the port side.  The helicopter got into range and began dropping GATOR mines.  She watched as one of the mines hit a truck full of men with guns and exploded into shrapnel and gore.  

“LEXA, GET DOWN HERE!”  Lincoln shouted up at her.  She looked down and saw Monty and Raven fleeing into the bunker.  Lincoln, Miller, Bell, Indra, Gustus, and three faces she didn’t know were armed and making plans.  She heard another explosion and turned her attention back to the city.  An ATV had hit a mine.  The distant sound of the M134 firing traveled on the wind.  Lexa pulled the scope back up and followed the gunner’s progress.  Another ATV got caught in a strafe from the M134.  She searched for the other truck to no avail.  

 _“Lex, what’s going on up there?”_  Clarke’s voice came through her earpiece.

Lexa thumbed the talk button, “One of the Black Hawk’s declared war on Asheville.  What are you hearing from them?”  

 _“They’re pissed, Pike’s trying to find a way up the mountain.  They have a map, but the roads are buried under four feet of snow”_ Anya answered.

Lexa heard another mine explode and looked for the unfortunate soul.  It was another ATV.

 _“Lexa, goddammit, get down here,”_ Lincoln growled into her earpiece.

The Ranger ignored him, someone on the ground in the city was returning fire on the Black Hawk.  “Who’s in that bird?”  She demanded through the walkie.

 _“Some of Indra’s people,”_ Lincoln replied. _“Get down here.”_

“No, someone is returning fire,” Lexa answered.

 _“Indra’s on the radio with them,”_ Lincoln told her.

The Black Hawk had begun to circle around, intent on taking out the current threats.  There was a M134 gunner on the starboard side as well.  Who ever was returning fire on the ground was getting in a lot of good shots.  Abruptly, the helicopter swung around and headed into the center of the city.  “What was that about?”  Lexa asked into the headset.

 _“They’ve sent out reinforcements,”_ Anya replied.

 _“They’re going to try to take out the complex,”_ Lincoln added.

Lexa watched as the Black Hawk took heavy fire from several directions.  The port side gunner was hit, over the distance it was hard to tell how badly until the figure slumped and started to slide out of the helicopter door.  Another figure lunged, trying to pull the gunner back in, ducking the incoming fire.  The Black Hawk launched more mines into the city and the multiple explosions sent a cloud of smoke and debris that made it impossible to see how much damage had been done.  While she waited for the smoke to clear, the back end of the Black Hawk exploded.

 _“Lex, what do you see?”_  Lincoln asked with concern,

“They hit the Black Hawk’s tanks, she’s going down,” Lexa replied watching the pilot struggle to retain control of the plummeting craft.  The intent was obvious to the Ranger, they were going to crash into the complex.  They dropped the last of the mines as they hit, going up in a mushroom cloud of flame and smoke.  

 _“They think that was all of us,”_ Clarke spoke in her ear.  A moment later she added, _“Pike’s still trying to come up the mountain.”_

 _“They’ll freeze to death if they don’t give up soon,”_ Raven interjected.

Lexa slung the sniper rifle over her shoulder and started down the tree.  Lincoln met her at the roots.  “Get everyone inside,” she ordered.

Once everyone else had started down the stairs, Lexa took a moment to stand on the helipad and listen to the sounds on the wind.  There was nothing on the mountain.  She went down the steps and began sealing the mountain up behind her.

 

A few minutes later, everyone but Monty were gathered in the living area.  Raven was holding a piece of electronic equipment that Lexa didn’t recognize.  Monty was in the Watchtower with the intercom open so he could hear and participate.

 _“Commander, it sounds like they are pulling back to the city.  Pike doesn’t really want to, but they have to find shelter,”_ Monty reported overhead.

“Thank you, Monty,” Lexa said.  She paced around for several moments, gathering her thoughts.  “I’m sorry that we lost some of your people today,” she finally said in Indra and Gustus’ direction.

Indra nodded.

“Who was on the Black Hawk?”  The Ranger asked.

“Fox, Quint, Penn, and Sterling,” Indra replied.

“We will honor them,” Lexa said, continuing to pace.  

Clarke stood and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.  Green met blue and Lexa stopped pacing.  Clarke kept a hand on the Ranger’s shoulder and turned to face the room.  “I’m Clarke Griffin, I’m a doctor.  This is Lexa Woods, Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger.  Incidentally, she’s also the love of my life.”

Indra chuckled, Raven wolf whistled.

“The whistler is Raven Reyes, rocket scientist.  Literally,” Clarke continued.  “Raven, what is that?”

Raven held up the electronic component.  “It’s the helicopter’s brain.  I didn’t want to risk someone taking it.”

“Good call,” Gustus said.

“Next to Raven is Anya Forrester, she trained MMA fighters,” Anya nodded and Clarke continued.  “Lincoln Forrester, Anya’s cousin and Combat Engineer.”  Lincoln waved.  “Octavia Blake, NYPD,” Octavia raised a hand to the new additions.  “Bellamy Blake, Octavia’s brother, Professor of History at CUNY,” Bell nodded to the newcomers.  “Jasper Jordan, horticulture, he keeps us in beer and produce,” Jasper smiled.  “Doctor Harper McIntyre, surgeon,” Harper raised a hand.  “John Murphy drove a truck for the Army,” Clarke continued.

“Yeah, we know Murphy the card shark,” Gustus grunted.

“I still don’t take checks,” Murphy advised.

Clarke continued.  “Nathan Miller, medical supply, he’s been training with Anya, though so he’s not as soft as he use to be.”  Miller looked embarrassed but raised a hand.  “Zoe Monroe, chemical engineer,” Monroe held up a hand.  “And the kids, Aden is the young man in the casts, Atom the dark haired boy with the charming smile,” Atom blushed.  “And Tris, our Amazon in training,” Tris had been training with Miller, Lincoln, and Lexa, she might be the most dangerous fourteen year old girl left on the planet.

Indra stepped forward.  “I’m Indra Washington, Army Air Assault.  This is Gustus Baumgartner, Black Hawk pilot,” Gustus nodded and Indra continued.  “Tristan Holt,” a tall muscular man with a shaved head and intense eyes stepped forward.  “Artillery.  Emori Silva, helicopter mechanic,” a dark haired and dark eyed young woman stepped forward.  “Dax Kelly, civilian contractor,” Indra finished as a tall, thin man stepped forward.

“Welcome,” Lexa said, stepping over to shake each of the new arrivals hands.

 _“Thanks for forgetting me,”_ Monty’s voice came overhead.

Clarke rolled her eyes.  “Monty Green is in the Watchtower making sure we stay safe,” she said.  “Is that better, Monty?”

 _“Yes,”_ he replied.

Anya stood up and joined Lexa and Clarke at the front of the room.  She was moving pretty well for a woman who had a kidney shot out three weeks ago.  “Pike will be back, probably sooner than we would like.”

“Well, we’d like for him to never come, so any time is sooner than we would like,” Monroe piped up.   Tris and Atom mumbled their agreement.

“What do we know about this Pike?”  Indra asked.

“Not much,” Lexa replied.  “He has claimed the city and all of it’s contents for himself.  We have seen military grade hardware in their arsenal.”

“They are extremely violent,” Murphy added.  “Radio traffic has them going all Colonial on the natives if you get my drift.”

 _“Commander, their people are starting to get back to their complex.  It’s completely destroyed, weapon, vehicle, and food cache’s eliminated.  It sounds like they had some tanks of gas in the parking garage that is fueling a fire,”_ Monty announced on the overhead.   _“Pike is furious and wants revenge.  His people are more concerned with finding food and shelter.”_

Everyone in the living area took a moment to digest Monty’s words.  If Pike believed they had food and shelter in the mountain, he would rally his men to take the mountain.  

When the silence had stretched too long to be comfortable Lincoln stood up.  “Let’s get everyone settled in and clear off the stairs.”

Lexa nodded.

Everyone who was able bodied started up the stairs, Anya was still on light duty, Aden’s leg cast was due to come off in a few more days.  His arm cast would be on awhile longer, Clarke had already replaced it once but the break had been severe enough that crutches were out of the question even as the boy’s ribs healed.  Aden was looking forward to walking again, the doctor and the surgeon had been doing physical therapy with him daily to keep his muscles from atrophying.

 

It took two hours to get everything down the stairs and sorted.

“Doctor Griffin,” Emori called across the living area.  

Clarke walked over to her.  “It’s just Clarke.  Emori, right?”

“Yeah,” she held out a ruck sack.  “This is all of the medicine and first aid supplies we gathered.”

Clarke looked inside and was impressed with the cobbled together kit.  “This is excellent, nice kit.”

“Jasper, can you help Linc and Dax get this stuff down to dry goods?”  Lexa called across the room.

“Lex, where do you want to put these extra blankets and bedrolls?”  Anya called.

“Raven, put the canister of grenades down!”  Octavia shouted.

“God, you guys act like I blow shit up for fun,” Raven sulked.

“You do,” Bellamy took the canister away from her and carried it off toward the armory with the ammo cans he already had.

 _“Commander, I need you in the Watchtower,”_ Monty said overhead.

Lexa dropped the box she had in her hands and headed to the Watchtower at a fast walk.

Monty had read the deciphered message half a dozen times before he called Lexa.  While he waited for her he read it another half dozen times.

Lexa keyed in and secured the door behind her.  “Is it Pike?”

Monty shook his head, still looking at the screen.  “No, they’re busy trying not to freeze to death right now.”

Lexa sat down next to him and looked at the screen.

 

> _GB:  The President and VP have been deposed.  Rep. Nia Snow of Wisconsin has taken command._

Representative Snow was a well known Tea Party rabble-rouser and the Queen of grandstanding.  She was also notoriously corrupt and scheming.  

“I’m a little concerned about the use of the word ‘deposed’,” Monty admitted.  While they were looking at the screen another message flashed up.

 

 

> _MW:  “Queen” Nia has no business being in command of anything.  The woman is a savage._

 

Lexa and Monty barely had time to digest the message and nod their agreement before it was followed by another one.

 

 

> _RR:  Communiques from GB contacts indicate Congresswoman Snow orchestrated the deaths of the executive branch and many others who opposed her rise to power._

 

Monty and Lexa exchanged a glance before another message was decrypted.

 

 

> _CM:  While Ms. Pram doesn’t consider this a great loss, treason is treason and will be treated accordingly.  Rep. Snow is ordered to surrender to Greenbrier security and await investigation._
> 
> _GB:  President Snow does not recognize Ms. Pram as holding any authority._
> 
> _MW:  Gov. Wallace would like to remind Rep. Snow that he has a small cache of fully functional Minuteman III ICBMs._

 

Lexa and Monty continued to watch the power trip pissing contest unfold. “Well, that escalated quickly,” Monty observed.

They heard someone entering the pass-code on the door before Clarke walked in and secured the door behind her.  “What’s going on?”  The doctor asked looking between Monty and Lexa.

“A coup,” Lexa replied.  

Clarke bent down to read the screen.  “Holy shit!”

Another message came through.

 

 

> _GB:  President Snow would like to remind Gov. Wallace that she is in command of a bunker built to withstand a nuclear attack._

 

“How far is Greenbrier from here?”  Clarke asked.

“About two-hundred and seventy miles,” Lexa replied.

“And Mount Weather?”

“Over four hundred,” the Ranger replied.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Under Pressure - Queen Feat. David Bowie


	23. Hells Bells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH WARNING
> 
> Disclaimer: No lesbians were seriously harmed in the writing of this chapter.

**July 31, 2017**

Three days had passed.  The tension in the air was thick as they waited for Pike to mount his assault.  The radio had been abuzz with messages and conversations the first day after the Black Hawks arrived.  Pike had lost a lot of men and a number of prisoners.  Aden had to be excused when it was established what function the prisoners were serving for Pike’s men.

Pike was sure the crashed Black Hawk had been the only one, he and his people believed that the same helicopter had landed and taken off again.  While Pike himself was positive that Clarke and Lexa were on the mountain, his people were skeptical, but interested in taking possession of any and all military hardware that may have been left on the mountaintop.  He was convinced that the mountain housed a secret military installation.

Monty had listened as the radio chatter described their quest for a snow plow capable of forging a path up the mountain.  He was unconcerned, knowing how many Claymore mines Raven and Lexa had installed on the mountain leading to the property.  Every afternoon, during the lightest part of the day, he flew a drone out to examine the mountain beyond the boundaries of the bunker looking for signs that anyone had gotten close.

This morning Pike’s men were siphoning gas from cars abandoned in a partially collapsed parking garage downtown.  They had raided a dealership for more ATVs two days ago, but were having difficulty finding enough gas nearby to keep them running.  Over the last several days, another team had been going door to door, collecting all of the food, supplies, and people they could capture to replace what the crashed Black Hawk had destroyed.

In the bunker, Gustus, Tristan, and Dax were assigned to the room with Bellamy.  Indra and Emori were placed in with Jasper.  On their second day in the bunker, Emori beat Murphy at Texas Hold'em, he was immediately smitten.  Gustus had taken up fishing in the lake under the bunker, the fish that had been in the streams on the mountain had taken shelter from the ice in the mountain.  Gus joked that he had intended to retire in the Great Smoky Mountains and fish out the rest of his days, this was as close as he was going to get.

 

 _“I want to be up that mountain by lunch,”_ a voice Monty had learned to recognize as Charles Pike came through a speaker.

 _“We’ve almost got enough gas for the bulldozer and four wheelers, boss,”_ another voice replied.   _“Three more tanks to drain.”_

Monty shook his head and sighed.  It seemed that today was the day.  He pushed the button to open the bunker wide channel.  “It’s time.”

****

Octavia and Lincoln were finishing the clean up from breakfast, the kids had helped.

Bellamy, Miller, and Dax were finishing up the farm chores, mucking out the pens and shifting dried dung into the heating barrels to burn.  The raccoon cubs were watching with great interest, hoping someone would provide them with a tasty snack.  Miller often slipped them treats from his breakfast.

Harper and Clarke were in the infirmary finishing up Anya’s daily check up and preparing to take Aden’s leg cast off.

Jasper and Monroe were in the garden, harvesting romaine and tomatoes.  Lincoln had made fresh ricotta and mozzarella the day before and they were promised a lasagna for dinner if there were enough greens for a salad.

Emori, Murphy, and Raven were in the Bat Cave tinkering with Anya’s truck.  It was considerably better armored now than it had been the day they had first encountered Pike.  Emori and Raven had been lowering the gas mileage of the big truck in order to conserve as much as they could.  Their gas supply was dangerously low and the truck would be a last resort weapon if Pike’s men found the side door.

Lexa, Gustus, and Indra were in the conference room with maps and an armaments lists going over possible weaknesses and battle plans.

Tristan had been sorting ammunition and weapons for three days.  When Monty’s voice came overhead he opened the gun cabinets and began pulling out the HEAT loaded AT4 rocket launcher’s they had brought from Fort Campbell.  There were twenty-two of them all told.   Twenty-two chances to obliterate anything smaller than an armored tank.  Another cabinet was loaded with kevlar vests and helmets, they had decided that keeping all of the battle gear in the same place was the most efficient way to get ready for an outside attack.

Anya was the first in the armory, she grabbed a kevlar vest and began securing it on her person before Lexa, Indra, and Gustus arrived.

“Take it off, Ahn, you’re in the Watchtower with Raven and Monty,” Lexa ordered.

“Lex,” Anya began to argue.

“That’s an order and it’s non-negotiable,” Lexa snapped.  “You’re still not healed from the last outing.”

Anya took off the kevlar vest and threw it at Lexa.

“I can have Clarke sedate you for the duration,” Lexa threatened.

Clarke had come across the hall to help secure vests and weapons on those who would be going out to fight.  “I won’t even feel bad about it,” she told Anya.

“Fuck you both,” Anya stormed out.

Clarke helped Lexa into her vest and started strapping holsters onto her.  “Do you need to go after her?”

“Not unless you want her to tear something open,” Lexa replied stuffing loaded clips into her pockets.

Lincoln and Octavia arrived next, with Bellamy, Miller, and Dax close behind them.  Monroe, Emori, and Murphy brought up the rear.  Clarke got them all in vests and turtle heads while Tristan distributed weapons.  Everyone got two AT4’s to carry up on top of their assigned weapons.  

Clarke and Harper were given vests and sidearms, but ordered to stay on the stairs, any injured would be brought to them, not the other way around.

“Anya’s mad,” Linc said, helping Lexa get her swords strapped to her back.

“Yep,” Lexa replied.  “I’d rather have her mad than dead, though.”

****

Thirty minutes later everyone was armed and armored and gathered by the staircase door in the living area.  Coats were distributed to everyone who needed one.  The soldiers had been in BDUs with thermals underneath for days.  Headsets were distributed to Lexa, Linc, Indra, and Gustus.

Gus, Emori, and Dax would take positions in the Black Hawk.  Emori and Dax would each be on an M134.  Should they need to use the mines, Gus would take them up and mine the mountaintop.

Lexa would take a position in the tree tops and pick off as many of the attackers as she could before they reached the helipad.  Everyone else would be taking defensive positions around the area.

Lincoln and Lexa had ridden the Clydesdales out around the back of the mountain to the helipad, down to the gate, and back daily to make sure that Pike’s men would follow that path up to the helipad and not around to the roll up door.

Monty had been keeping Lexa updated via headset.  Pike was on the move.  He and Raven had done the math based on their radio chatter and gave them two hours before they would break the perimeter.

They started carrying the weapons up.  They would have time to rest and hydrate at the top of the stairs before the fight.

****

_“They’ve broken the perimeter,”_ Monty’s voice came through their headsets.  They were in the second section of the staircase from the top, it was warmer there than in the top section.  Lexa, Lincoln, Gustus, and Indra stood from their resting positions on the stairs, their war paint had been applied during the wait.  Octavia’s war paint matched Lincoln’s.  Murphy had a black hand print on his face and Emori still had the signs grease paint on her hand from where she pushed it onto his face with a laugh.

“It’s go time,” Lincoln said.  The others got to their feet.  

Clarke kissed Lexa.  “Be safe, Lexacoon.  I love you.”

“I do not look like a raccoon,” Lexa pushed her forehead into the doctor’s.  “I love you, too.”

Octavia and Lincoln were sharing a similar moment.

“Break it up, I’d rather get shot at than watch the Commander be all lovey-lovey with Griff,” Murphy groaned.

Lexa pulled away from Clarke and punched Murphy in the arm.  “You all know your positions, be alert and aware.”  

Linc moved to break the seal on the door and lead the warriors up and out the final door.  The wind was biting cold.  The snow had stopped sometime overnight but the wind was blowing it hard enough to flurry around the scorched forest.

Lexa resealed the door as soon as everyone was out and moved out to climb a tall, sturdy southern pine.  Once in a secure position she swung her M2010 off of her shoulder and chambered a round.  She closed her eyes and listened to the forest.  It was eerie how quiet the world was now.  There were no birds chirping, no leaves to rustle in the wind, no animals to scurry across the ground, and nothing to dampen far off sounds.  She could hear the motors growling up the mountain.  The smell of burning diesel fuel blew in on the wind.  Underneath it was the scent of motor oil and unleaded.  She opened her eyes and focused on the direction the sounds and smells originated.  She brought up the rifle and peered through the scope.

The Ranger wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she saw the front of the snow plow appeared from behind a rocky outcrop to the south, she slipped her ear protection on over her headset.  Lexa knew the distance and waited for the driver to appear in her scope, when he did she fired a round and watched as the opposite side of the driver’s head blew out onto the white snow.  The snow plow continued to roll forward with the dead driver slumped over the wheel.  Another moment later and a bulldozer rolled into view behind the snowplow.  No wonder they hadn't reacted to the shot, they hadn’t heard it over the roaring engines.  She breathed and waited for the driver of the bulldozer to appear.  As soon as he did, his brain exploded onto the snow next to the driver of the snowplow.

The driverless snowplow ran into a tree.  A moment later the bulldozer ran into the snowplow.  The combined pressure of both vehicles cracked the trunk of the scorched tree, the sound loud enough that Lexa heard it clearly over the distant roar of the engines.  Down on the ground they couldn’t see what had happened and many had jumped at the crack of the tree.  She switched out her partially spent magazine for a full one, reloading the used clip from loose rounds in one of her pockets.

 _“Lex, what was that?”_  Linc asked softly in the earpiece.

“I made a mess,” Lexa replied just as softly.  An ATV pulled up next to the bulldozer, Lexa waited.  A second ATV joined the first one, Lexa continued to wait.  A third and fourth ATV pulled up.  When all four riders had disembarked and begun to examine the cab of the bulldozer, Lexa fired four shots in rapid succession.  Not waiting to see that one hit its target before firing the next.  All four riders fell to the ground, dead, the Ranger waited for the next target.  

It took several moments before a face peered around the rocky outcrop, looking for the source of the shots.  Clearly the lookout knew nothing about weapons because he restricted his visual search to a much nearer range than the full click of distance between Lexa and the approaching army.  Lexa waited, knowing she was unlikely to be spotted, giving Pike’s men a chance to assume the shooter had moved on to another position.

The head disappeared back behind the outcrop.  A few moments later, men began to dart across the open area to take cover behind the bulldozer and snowplow.  She counted fourteen of them, Pike wasn’t among them.  Lexa scanned the forest all around her, something was off, and she needed to find it.  

There, coming from the east, motion.  There was a squad dressed in white, pushing through the deep snow on foot.  She counted twenty-five of them.  Her magazines held five shots.  She had enough ammunition to take both groups out, but not enough time.  She only had four magazines in total.  She sighed.

“We’ve got two groups coming in.  The loud one from the south and a stealth squad from the east,” Lexa said softly into her headset.  “I’m going to concentrate my fire to the east, you’ll have to take the rest.  They’ll be coming on foot.”

 _“Roger that, Commander,”_ Lincoln replied.

 _“Heard, Commander,”_ Indra’s voice sounded in her ear.

 _“Understood, Commander,”_ Gustus responded.

Lexa shifted in the tree to better focus her attentions on the team coming from the east.  She sighted in, settled her breathing and dropped five of them before quickly switching magazines.  The other twenty were diving for cover.  She slid the empty magazine into the pocket with the loose rounds and lined up her next targets.  Quickly, she dropped five more as they tried to find something to shield them from her very high powered rifle.  Another magazine switch.  None of the targets were positioned in a way that she could certainly get a kill shot.  She slipped a hand into her pocket and casually reloaded the empty magazines while carefully watching her quarry.  Lexa had finished refilling the magazines before one of the squad stepped into view seeking to move closer.  Lexa dropped him in less than a second.

The Ranger heard the bang of a grenade to the south, she couldn’t spare the glance and hoped it was her team tossing the handheld munitions.  Another of her quarry tried to make a mad dash for a closer hiding place.  Lexa shot him between the eyes and watched as the back of his skull blew off and coated the corpses of her previous targets.  Moments passed.  She could see hand motions between the attackers.  They had apparently decided to try to rush her and all of the remaining thirteen stepped out of their hiding places and began to charge toward her position.  She dropped three, swapped the clip, and dropped four more before they gave up that plan and dove for cover again.

A Claymore exploded to the south, Lexa would know that blast sound anywhere, too many days on the range.

****

Inside the bunker, things were deathly silent.  Jasper was locked down in the greenhouse.  Should the bunker be compromised no one but Lexa or Clarke could open that door.  If it went bad and Pike took control, Jasper would destroy it all.  In the meantime, he nursed a beer and tended to the strawberries.

Raven, Monty, and Anya were packed into the Watchtower, each focusing on different parts of the battle raging above them.  Despite their individual focus’ being split, Raven was tucked into Anya’s side with the trainer’s arm wrapped tightly around her waist.  Anya was splitting her attention between Lexa’s one woman death squad and the fighting to the south.  Indra, Lincoln, and Murphy were engaged there. Monty was focused on Miller, Bellamy, Octavia, and Tristan in a pitched firefight against a large group that tried to come in from the west.   They had only missed discovering the side entrance by sixty yards.  Gustus, Emori, and Dax were hovering near the Black Hawk taking pot shots at their attackers with the AT4’s and grenades, the M134’s were unsafe with their own people in the strafing area.

Pike had come up the mountain with four Army cargo trucks, clearly liberated from the nearby National Guard post, two full sized pick-ups, a Suburban, four ATVs, a bulldozer, and the snowplow.  As yet, they had been unable to get an accurate count of the number of people Pike brought up the mountain, but their estimations were between sixty and seventy-five.

Not wanting to distract anyone up on the ground, the three in the Watchtower stayed silent.  Until there was something important to impart that no one on the ground was aware of, distractions were bad.

****

Clarke and Harper sat on the top step listening to the explosions of AT4s, grenades, and Claymores; the rat-a-tat of M16 rifles, handguns, and hunting rifles; and the sharp crack of Lexa’s sniper rifle.

The air was heavy between them, Harper fidgeted with her Kevlar vest, Clarke checked and rechecked her kit.  Another AT4 fired, Clarke startled slightly.

“You think Lincoln will complain that the noise put the cows off their milk?”  Harper joked trying to ease the tension.

Clarke slowly turned her attention to Harper who shrugged.  A second passed before Clarke burst out laughing.

****

Lexa kept her focus on her six remaining targets while refilling her magazines with one hand in her ammo pocket.  When they were all loaded again, she switched out the mostly spent clip in the rifle for a full one and refilled the last magazine.  Another three minutes passed before one of the remaining six moved.  In the intervening time, the Ranger had heard the sounds of rifles and handguns.  More grenades exploded and two more Claymores were set off.  Someone was firing the AT4s at irregular intervals.

One of the six had decided to bolt and join the main fight to the south.  Lexa shot him in the head, the remaining five turned and began running back the way they had come.  After years of battling insurgents and suicide bombers, Sergeant Lexa Woods didn’t believe in leaving any enemy combatant survivors.  She picked them off one at a time swapping out the clip before killing the last one.

She shifted her attention to the battle taking place under her feet.  The action was all within fifty yards of the bunker now.  There were no clear shots to be had, Murphy had a group of five pinned down behind a fallen tree.  Near to him, Indra and Linc were exchanging fire with a group huddled behind a metal shield they had carried up the mountain.

Emori shouldered another AT4 and shouted “BACK BLAST AREA CLEAR!” Lincoln and Indra dove for cover understanding Emori’s subtle warning before she blasted the metal shield

“I’m gonna marry that girl,” Murphy shouted from his position as Indra and Linc joined him in firing at the five behind the fallen tree.  Another group was coming up the mountain.

“In your dreams,” Emori yelled back.

Lexa shifted her attention to the west where Miller, Bellamy, Octavia, and Tristan were struggling with a large group.  Lexa raised her rifle and looked for a clear shot through the scope.   _Pike!_  He was there, peeking from behind a tree and firing toward her people with a Glock.  She couldn’t get a clear shot at him or any of them.  She lowered the rifle and saw Bellamy struggling with his M16.  He was trying to clear the chamber to no avail, frustration got the better of him and he started banging the rifle on the trunk of the tree he was using for cover.  His frustration was causing him to completely disregard his safety.

Lexa slid down the trunk of the pine.  Clarke was going to read her the riot act later when she was cleaning bark out of the cuts.  The Ranger didn’t have time to worry about some superficial wounds, as soon as her boots hit the ground she was at a dead run towards Bell.  He turned and looked at her with shock, completely unaware that one of Pike’s men was rounding the tree, pistol aimed at black curls.  Lexa grasped the barrel of her rifle and swung it like a nine iron directly into the attacker’s nose.  His face exploded in a spray of blood, shattered nose sending tiny bone fragments into his brain, the attacker flew backwards into the snow, stone dead.

“Holy shit, Commander!”  Bell exclaimed when he saw the body.

“Get down,” Lexa grabbed his shoulder and yanked him down.  Bellamy dropped to his knees with a pained expression.  He opened his mouth to speak and blood ran out.  “Bellamy!”  Lexa shouted pulling him close, looking for the wound.  A lucky shot in the back of his neck between the kevlar vest and helmet.  Lexa shifted her gaze to the direction the bullet came from and saw a smiling Pike.  

“BELL!”  Octavia screamed from her position.

“OCTAVIA STAY DOWN,” Lexa roared back.

“TELL ME HE’S OKAY, COMMANDER,” Octavia shouted.

“I CAN’T,” was Lexa’s reply.  What happened next occurred so fast that even the three in the Watchtower who watched the whole scene unfold didn’t see everything.  Octavia leapt to her feet and charged at Pike, two 9MM pistols blazing.  Tristan was forced to jump up with his M249 SAW machine gun, strafing it in every direction but the one Octavia shot off in.  The gun was barely controlled even under Tristan's brute strength.  Lexa drew two of her handguns and began picking off attackers.  Pike’s men shifted their attention from Tristan to Octavia running through the open space.  When it was all over, Lexa was amazed that Octavia survived her charge.  There were slugs embedded all the way around her bulletproof vest and helmet, she had three cracked ribs, a concussion, and she was covered in bruises.  Bodies were falling backward, some under Tristan’s assault, others with headshots from Lexa’s Beretta's.  Lexa darted from tree trunk to tree trunk to get better angles on her targets.  Miller kept his position and took advantage of Octavia's run to take proper aim at the attackers.

The first of Octavia’s pistols ran out of ammo before she made it twenty yards.  The second one ran out of ammo ten feet ahead of Pike.  She threw the handgun at the man who shot her brother, tagging him in the shoulder with it.  While he lifted a hand to block the flying pistol, Octavia drew a long knife from her belt and leapt at him, blade extended, and flew into his center of mass.  The pair of them fell out of sight behind the tree trunk.  Lexa picked off targets as fast as she could.  She didn’t have time to count the dead, between Tristan cutting them down and her headshots there were a lot of bodies littering the mountaintop.  

The Ranger darted between trees trying to get closer to Octavia and Pike.  She could see that they were struggling from the movement of their legs visible around the trunk.  When she got to a position where she would have a clear shot of the bastard, she saw Octavia jam the knife into Pike’s neck.  Blood spurted up into Octavia’s face.  

Tristan stopped firing and Lexa looked around.  All of the western attackers were dead or dying.  “Tristan, Miller, move to the south to help Murph, Linc, and Indra,” Lexa ordered.  The bulk of the attackers were still that direction.  “Tell them Pike is dead.”

The Ranger moved over to where Octavia was still sitting on Pike’s corpse, covered in his blood.  She was afraid to touch the former policewoman and spoke softly.  “Take Bell down to Harper and Clarke.  I’ll cover you.”

Octavia nodded slowly, she climbed off of her enemy and staggered to the spot where Bellamy laid.  She checked his pulse, already knowing that her brother was gone.  Octavia grabbed both of his hands and started dragging him toward the helipad.  Dax jumped from his position on the helipad, picked Bell up, and carried him to the bunker door as Octavia followed with her head down.

Lexa turned her attention to the fight that was still underway to the south.  There were four men trying to get behind Murphy’s position.  Lexa holstered her sidearms and drew her swords, she couldn’t risk a stray bullet hitting Murphy.  The noise of the gunfire between Tristan, Indra, Nate, and Linc covered the crunch of the Ranger sprinting across the hard packed snow.  Two quick slashes and the first two were bleeding out in the snow.  The other two turn quickly at the sounds of their teammates dying.  Lexa slashed their throats and got to Murphy’s back.

“Hey Sarge, I’m getting kind of tired of this cat and mouse game,” Murphy drawled.

“Me, too,” Lexa sighed, sheathing her swords.  She keyed the mic on her headset.  “Watchtower, is this the last of them?”

Monty’s very controlled voice answered, “Scans and visuals show no other targets.”

Lexa took a moment and made a plan.  “PIKE IS DEAD!”  She shouted.  “TRIKRU, FALL BACK TO THE HELIPAD!”

Murphy gave her a confused look.

“Emori and Dax can’t get clear shots with us in the way,” Lexa explained.  “We’ve got big guns, let’s use them.”

Murphy nodded.

“You go, I’ll cover you,” the Ranger drew her sidearms and loaded fresh clips.

Murphy nodded and checked his position against the remaining attackers.  There were fourteen that he could see.  Murphy dashed as Lexa swung out firing both Beretta’s.  Miller took advantage of Lexa’s cover fire and dashed back to the former cabin foundation, too.  She hit three and dashed forward to duck behind another tree.  Across the way, Indra was giving her a look.  Lexa nodded her head back toward the helipad in a signal to move out.  Indra looked like she had questions but did as Lexa indicated.  The Ranger swung out again and fired indiscriminately at the attackers.  She picked off four more as Indra got to the helipad.

The distance between Linc and Lexa gave Emori and Gustus plenty of room to fire AT4’s at the enemy.  Linc glanced at Lexa and she signaled him to go, tossing a series of grenades out into the trees.  The Ranger used the blasted snow and ice as cover to join the others on the concrete.  She felt a sting in her thigh and a pain in her back and pushed on through the pain.

She climbed up onto the Black Hawk and sighted her M2010.  Dax got into position behind the M134, Tristan got into position with his SAW, Emori and Indra shouldered fresh AT4s, Lincoln, Miller, and Murphy each pulled a pin on a grenade and waited for the snow to dissipate.  As soon as visibility began to clear, they unleashed hell upon the remaining attackers.  Four fell in the initial onslaught, one bolted.  Lexa picked him off then sighted one of the remaining two, taking him out.

“I want the last one alive,” Lexa said.  

“DROP YOUR WEAPON AND SURRENDER NOW!”  Indra roared.  

The last attacker seemed to be weighing his choices.  Finally he dropped the gun and stepped out with his hands up.  Lexa stayed in position on the roof of the Black Hawk with her rifle trained on the final combatant.  Indra, Tristan, and Lincoln approached him.

“On your knees,” Indra called.  “Hands behind your head.”

The attacker complied before they got close enough to speak to him.

“How many of Pike’s men are still in the city?”  Indra asked.

“None,” he answered.  “We brought everyone up to take the army base as our new base.”

“There isn’t an Army base,” Indra told him.

He made a show of looking at their weapons and uniforms, then at the Black Hawk.  “Could have fooled me.”

“What about your prisoners?”  Lincoln asked.

“Pike killed them before we left, he didn’t want to drag them up and we figured we’d have that pretty blond doctor to play with when we got here,” he sneered.

The sneer was still on his face when the rifle cracked and the back of his skull exploded into the snow behind him.

Indra turned and gave Lexa a look.  The Ranger shouldered her rifle and shrugged.

“What do you plan to do with all of these bodies, Commander?”  Indra called.

Lexa hopped down off of the helicopter and began collection unspent ammunition.  “Burn them.”  She limped down the stairs and unsealed the bunker door.  Clarke was standing there waiting for her.  “Back of my thigh.”

Clarke turned her around and looked at the wound.  “The cold kept you from bleeding out, we need to get you downstairs, though.”  Clarke plucked a slug out of the back of her vest and held it in front of her face with a look.

“That’s why I wear the kevlar, love,” Lexa shrugged.

Bellamy’s body was lying a few stairs below them.  Lexa’s eyes traveled over it and back to Clarke’s.  “I’m sorry, Clarke, I tried to get to him in time.  I didn’t. . .”

“It’s not your fault,” Clarke took Lexa’s hands and felt the tiny pieces of bark still embedded in them.  The doctor flipped them over and looked at the damage.  “I need to clean these, too.”

“I need to stay here until everything is taken care of,” Lexa looked tired.

“You’ve got a bullet in your leg and you’re about to have an adrenaline crash,” Clarke pushed her into a sitting position on the top stair and quickly wrapped some gauze tightly around the Ranger's leg.  “Stay put.”

The doctor stepped out into the weather and climbed the stairs.  Taking in the carnage and destruction.  “Anybody else hurt?”

Everyone shook their heads negative.  Lincoln walked up to her.  “Bellamy?”

“Dead,” Clarke told him.  “Harper took Octavia down to your room to sedate her.  You should go.”

Linc nodded and headed into the bunker.  Anya pushed past him in the doorway and stood next to Clarke.

Clarke looked over at her.  “Take Lexa down, I’ll stay up here.”

“No lifting, no working,” Clarke ordered.

Anya nodded, Clarke went back in and helped Lexa down the stairs. 

When Clarke unsealed the interior door, Teddy dashed into the stairwell to check on Lexa, who was resting much of her weight on Clarke. 

"Teddy, you've got to let me help her to the infirmary," the Husky whined at Clarke's words.

"It's only a flesh wound," Lexa reassured the dog.

"It is not just a flesh wound and you are not the Black Knight," Clarke resealed the door and followed Teddy to the infirmary.  Bo followed along behind them.

****

Several hours later, Tristan and Dax were staying with the bonfire of bodies near the helipad, Indra and Gustus were in the Watchtower.  Lincoln, Nathan, Monty, and Jasper placed Bellamy on a pyre near the side entrance.  No one had the words to put to their loss, Octavia cried in Lincoln’s arms.  Lexa kept an arm around Clarke, both in comfort and to keep the weight off of her injured leg.  Raven accepted Anya’s arm around her waist.  Jasper poured a bottle of Bellamy’s favorite whiskey on the pyre before Octavia stepped forward and took a torch from Emori.  Everyone bowed their head.

It was Murphy who finally spoke, “May we meet again.”

Octavia nodded and lowered the torch to the wood, catching it alight.  Once it was burning well she tossed the torch into the flames and walked back into the bunker.

Linc followed after her.  Silently Raven and Anya went in, then Harper herded the kids inside followed by Monroe.

“You guys can go in, we’ll stay and keep an eye on the fire,” Murphy volunteered, Emori nodded beside him.

“We want to stay and have one last drink with Bell,” Jasper held up another bottle of whiskey as Monty stepped up next to him.  Miller stood on Monty’s other side.

“Do you have your sidearm?”  Lexa asked Miller.

He nodded.

“I still have mine, too,” Murphy told her.

“Okay, Monty knows how to lock it down.  Stay safe,” Lexa allowed Clarke to steer her back into the bunker and to their room.

Clarke refused to let Lexa shower with the stitches in the back of her leg.  Lexa was too tired to fight and allowed Clarke to give her a sponge bath.  Afterwards, they curled up in their bed with the dogs and slept.

 

****

 

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hells Bells - AC/DC
> 
> I don't think I've ever explained that in US military speak, a 'click' is a kilometer.


	24. A Hazy Shade of Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for skipping a week, life got in the way. I'll try to update Tumblr when there won't be a new chapter going forward. https://fairytalesareawful.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated.

**August 3rd, 2017**

****

Lexa stepped out of her room into the hallway.  Bellamy had been dead for three days, the bunker was still somber, but life was getting back to normal.

“I swear to God, Miller, clean your whiskers out of the sink or I will end you,” Anya snarled through Monty and Nathan's closed door.

Anya turned and glared at Lexa who quirked an eyebrow at her.  “I don’t want any of your crap either.”

“Ooohhkay,” Lexa intoned and walked off down the hall.  She made it into the kitchen where Lincoln was shredding leftover baked potatoes from the night before into hash browns.

“Hey,” he smiled softly.  “Miller and I already knocked out most of the farm work.  Tristan and Dax are finishing up.”

“Did you take the horses out?”

He nodded and continued to shred.

“How late did I sleep?”  Lexa reached for the French press and a coffee cup.  There was a coffeemaker, but Lexa and Lincoln preferred the flavor of coffee in a French press after years of drinking Army swill.  She grabbed the fresh cream out of the fridge and poured a little into the mug.  She hummed happily at the first sip.

“When did you start putting cream in coffee?”  Lincoln teased.

“When we started having fresh cream every day,” Lexa replied.

“You’re not gonna do the ‘I like my coffee like I like my women’ line?”

“Hot and blonde,” Lexa grinned.  “How’s Octavia?”

“Better,” he said.  “She acted like she might leave our room today.”

Anya wandered into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee without interacting with her cousin or her best friend.

“Good morning, Ahn,” Lincoln greeted.  Anya growled at him.

“She was threatening Miller in the hallway earlier,” Lexa shared.

“Trouble in paradise?”  Linc asked.

Anya rolled her eyes at him and walked out through the pantry.

“Huh,” Lincoln shrugged.

Lexa shrugged back at him before wandering toward the Watchtower to get Murphy’s shift report.

****

It was nearly lunchtime before Raven stopped vomiting long enough to go tinker in the Bat Cave.  Morning sickness was kicking her ass.  She and Emori had been repurposing engines for post-apocalyptic experiments.  Neither would admit that they weren’t doing anything productive, just tinkering to have something to do.  They started with the intention of converting one to run on water, which then became a giant pump to fill the water driven engine with water, which turned into a giant snow blower because Raven really wanted to go outside but wading through four to six feet of snow didn’t sound pleasant.   If asked, they would insist that they were still trying to build an engine that would run on water.  

Between the two of them they had built an engine hoist and had the motor half out of Octavia’s SUV.

“Hey,” Emori suddenly spoke.  “Could we use a solar panel to heat the water to make it a steam engine?”

Raven stopped what she was doing.  What she was doing was unbolting a motor mount half leaned into the motor.  She looked at Emori and seemed to be thinking it through.  “I don’t see why not, we’re going to have to make some batteries, though.”

“Ha, finally cracked it!”  Emori celebrated as Raven leaned back into the hood.

“Like it was some genius plan,” Raven scoffed returning to trying to break the bolt.  One super hard shove and she slipped from her leaning position and tore the skin off of her knuckles on the engine.  “FUCK!”

“Jesus, Rae,” Emori pulled her upright out of the engine.  She got a good look at the blood  dripping from the engineer’s hand and grabbed a rag to stem the flow.  “Shit, we need to get you to Clarke.”

“She’s going to love that you stuck a rag covered in dirt and grease on my open wound.”

“Ah, she’ll give you a tetanus shot and everything will be fine,” Emori tugged her along.

“I bet we don’t even have tetanus shots and I’m going to get lockjaw and starve to death,” Raven moaned.

Raven moaned and complained all the way to the infirmary where Clarke and Harper were finally removing Aden’s leg cast.  His arm would still be in a cast for a few more weeks.  


“Get a load of that shriveled up toothpick of a leg,” Raven taunted from the door as Clarke used the portable ultrasound to check that the break was healed.

“Why are you bleeding?”  Harper asked noting the blood drips on the floor.

Clarke glanced at Raven and Emori in the doorway.  “You didn’t lose a finger did you?”

“No, just some skin off my knuckles.”

Clarke looked at the ultrasound screen again.  “Okay, Aden, it looks good.  You’ve been sitting for awhile though so you are going to have to take it easy moving around.”  She turned her attention to Harper.  “Can you take him into the gym and do a little physical therapy while I deal with the greasy wound?”

“Gladly,” Harper helped Aden off of the table and assisted him in a slow walk to the gym.  He shoulder checked Raven on the way past with a muttered remark about kicking her ass with his toothpick leg.

Emori slipped off before Raven could rat her out as the reason there was a greasy rag on a bleeding wound.    

Clarke sighed when she got a look at the knuckle damage.  “Would it be too much to ask for you to wear gloves?”

“Yes,” Raven rolled her eyes.  Clarke gathered the items she needed to begin carefully cleaning out the grease and dirt.

The room was silent but for Bo’s occasional pibble sighs from under the bed and Raven’s occasional hisses of pain.

Clarke was taping down the gauze she wrapped around Raven’s knuckles before she spoke again.  “How’s your morning sickness, any better?”

“No, it’s awful.  I snapped at Anya this morning when she tried to get me to drink some of that ginger tea you told her about.”

“Is that why she was shouting at Miller in the hallway?”

“You heard that?”

“Everyone heard WhiskerGate.”

“She hates that I’m so sick.”

“She cares about you.”

“Yeah,” Raven sighed.

“What?”

She sighed again.  “I’m making this all way too hard on her.”

“Anya knew what she was getting into,” Clarke assured.

“We haven’t even had sex,” Raven confessed.

“Bullshit,” Clarke scoffed.

“Seriously, I-- I can’t,” she stammered.

Clarke looked the engineer in the eye.  “Rae, why didn’t you say something?”

“What was I supposed to say, ‘hey Doc, I’m traumatized, got any miracles?’”

“I don’t have any miracles, but a psych rotation is a required part of medical training.”

“I’ve talked to Anya about it, but I just feel like I’m piling everything on her and she’s not getting anything in return.”

“I know I haven’t known Anya very long, but I’m pretty sure if she had a problem with something, you would know about it.”

Raven sighed again.

“You should talk to her about your intimacy problems.”

“I have, she just tells me it’s fine and take my time.”

“And you can’t just take her at her word?  Anya doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who’ll blow sunshine up your ass.”

Raven laughed.  “No, not even a little bit of sunshine.”

“Okay then, keep the communication lines open with her.  Now, let’s talk about the PTSD,” Clarke said.  “Is it just the … one incident ... I may not be the best person to discuss this with.”

“How did I not see it, Clarke?”

“He became a different person than the guy you were in love with.  Some people just aren’t built for the apocalypse.”

“Like Bellamy,” Raven nodded.

“Him, too.”

“You don’t even miss him, do you?”

“Not really,” Clarke shook her head.  “He was a liability in a world where liabilities get people killed.”

“He used to be your friend.”

“I know,” Clarke sighed.  “We’re not talking about me, though.”

Raven took a moment to compose her thoughts.  “Everybody saw Finn stalking you but me,” she said.  “I was too busy pretending that I wasn’t attracted to Anya.”

“He didn’t go crazy because you were ignoring him, Rae,” Clarke told her.  “You’ve read his diary.”

“If I had paid more attention to him, maybe he wouldn’t have obsessed over you,” Raven tried to reason.

“I don’t think anything would have prevented his slide,” Clarke recalled Finn’s obsessive journal entry on the night they met.  “You bear no responsibility and I am so sorry that he ... assaulted you … the way he did.”

“If I don’t bear any responsibility, you don’t either.”

****

Lexa found Anya in the gym, going bare knuckle on a punching bag.  “Clarke already had to patch up Raven’s knuckles today,” she said.  “If she sees that you’ve torn yours up on a bag, she’ll be pissed.”

“Do you two  _ have _ to talk about everything?”  Anya punctuated her question with hits to the bag.

“We don’t have to, no.  I do find that communication is key to a healthy relationship,” Lexa smirked.

“One more and I’m going to start punching on you,” Anya snarled.

Lexa stretched her shoulders out, “Let’s go then.”

“Won’t your girlfriend be mad that you risked reinjuring my bullet wound?”

“No, I can keep from hitting you on the left,” Lexa smirked kicking Anya’s right hip.  “Although, you’ll be in the doghouse if you hit mine.”

Anya threw a punch at Lexa’s cheek.  The Ranger ducked it and swept at the trainer’s legs.  Anya danced back, barely avoiding the move.  The failing to lay a hit continued for several minutes as they tired each other out dodging attacks.

“You ready to talk about it yet,” the Ranger ducked a grapple attack and smacked Anya’s ass on the way around her.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Anya ducked a kick and managed to land a punch to the Ranger’s abdomen.

“Really, so you in the hallway shouting through Miller’s door over his facial hair in the sink is the new normal?”

“Maybe,” Anya grunted as Lexa made contact with her right side.

“I don’t think so,” Lexa managed to hit Anya square in jaw.  

The trainer stumbled back and rubbed her jaw.  “Fuck, Lex.”

Lexa shrugged.

Anya went on the offensive, launching a series of attacks meant to unbalance the Ranger.  Lexa managed to evade most of them.  “I feel so fucking powerless, Lex.  I can’t fight because I got shot.  I can’t do anything to help Raven. . .”

Lexa popped her in the jaw again.  “You help Raven everyday.”

“Lex, you don’t understand,” Anya began.

“I do, actually,” the Ranger danced away from a kick.  “Clarke tells me her morning sickness is awful.  She lost a longtime friend a few days ago and I imagine Finn’s assault has her pretty well messed up.”

Anya cracked Lexa in the nose. Lexa jerked back, eyes watering as blood started to drip out of her nostrils.  “First blood!”

“Is that how you want to do this?”

Anya chuckled.  Twelve seconds later, Anya was face down on the mat with a bruise starting to bloom around her eye and a droplet of blood forming on her split lip.  “Now, stop being a dick.”

“She has nightmares, every night,” Anya said.  “I’ve gotten to where I can wake her up before she starts to scream.  I still get hit a few times, though.”

“PTSD takes time to manage.”

Anya nodded into the mat.  “I’ve never been powerless in my life and I don’t know how to do it.”

“You aren’t powerless,” Lexa offered a hand to help her best friend up.  Anya took it.  “Just because you can’t heal her, doesn’t mean you aren’t able to help her.  She obviously has a pretty strong attachment to you.”

“She’s been pulling away.”

“Communication,” Lexa smirked.

“I will punch you in the nose again,” Anya shoved the Ranger.  “You probably need to do something about that bloody nose.”

“You’re going to need an ice pack for that eye.”

They went over to the infirmary where Harper read them the riot act.  Anya borrowed a book on PTSD from the medical book shelf.

The next day a sign was taped to the gym door in Monty's precise script renaming it Fight Club. 

****

**November 7, 2017**

****

_ GB:  I know you’re there. _

_ CM:  Obviously. _

_ MW:  It’s good that she noticed there are other survivors. _

_ RR:  Has she finally snapped? _

_ GB:  I’m coming for you. _

****

The messages started appearing a few minutes ago.  The last one made Monty call for Lexa.

****

_ CM:  I would be very interested to see how you intend to cross fifteen hundred miles in an ice age. _

_ GB:  You’re in the satellite. _

****

Lexa stared at the words on the screen.  Monty waited patiently for Lexa to say something, anything.

“Fuck,” was all Lexa could muster.

****

_ MW:  We’re all tapped into the satellite, you psycho. _

****

Another block opened on the screen, it was from Cheyenne Mountain.

****

_ CM:  Who are you and how close are you to Greenbrier? _

****

“What do you want to do, Commander?”  Monty asked.

****

_ CM:  Now that she has pointed you out, it was pretty easy to find the worm in the code.  I can sever the connection, or we can talk. _

****

Lexa gestured for Monty to shift over and give her control of the console.

****

_ WB:  Sergeant First Class Alexandria Woods, US Army.  Within 500 miles. _

****

A few moments passed.

****

_ CM:  SFC Woods, how many are in your group? _

_ WB:  You don’t actually expect me to give you that information?  We’ve already eliminated one takeover threat, we can handle a egomaniacal despot. _

_ CM:  Can we assume you are in a secure, privately owned facility?  _

_ WB:  Yes. _

_ CM:  Fair enough.  I will not compel you to give information about your privately owned facility.  You were honorably discharged before the meteor and therefore a private citizen. _

_ WB:  Yes, ma’am. _

 

"How did she know that?"  Monty asked.

"She's the acting President in a bunker designed to keep the countries leadership safe, she obviously has access to my records," Lexa replied.  “Can you hack into Greenbrier since they know we’re here?”

“Probably,” Monty shrugged.  “Technically it was decommissioned in the eighties so the software won’t be very secure.  What do you have in mind?”

“I want access to their security cameras, I want to know how many people they have, what kind of weapons, equipment, what movements they make.”

“I can do that.  We should tell the others,” Monty said.  Lexa agreed.

****

Life had carried on quietly for three months.  Raven was twenty-eight weeks pregnant with a strong healthy baby boy and she was showing quite spectacularly.  Anya had made her stop working on the water powered SUV when she caught her trying to hoist the motor by herself a month ago.  Emori and John still worked on it with Raven’s occasional supervision.  Mostly Raven drafted plans for things.  All kinds of things, she had filled three of Clarke’s sketch pads with various designs and inventions.  The engineer insisted she perfected the trebuchet,   She had built dozens of little models, mostly she used them to fire treats for the dogs. 

Lexa, Lincoln, and Anya had been training the kids.  Tris and Aden were born fighters.  Atom was more of a thinker.  He trained hard enough to protect himself, but spent much of his time with Clarke and Harper, learning how to comfort and heal.  When Aden wasn’t training he was Lexa’s shadow.  The now full grown husky, all sixty pounds of mouthy furball, and the half grown boy made up what the rest of the residents of the bunker called the Commander’s Personal Guard.

Everyone but Monty gathered together in the living area.  Clarke gave Lexa a curious look, she hadn’t had time to tell her that Greenbrier and Cheyenne Mountain knew of their existence. 

Once everyone was seated Lexa spoke into her headset.  “Monty, can you send that to the television, now please?”

The television behind the Ranger lit up with the messages they had received.  Everyone read the screen.  Clarke furrowed her brow.  

“Can they really get to us?”  Harper asked.

“I don’t know,” Lexa replied.  “I would say no chance, but we’ve had new arrivals and Pike’s people got up the mountain.”

“That’s was thirty degrees ago, though,” Raven pointed out.  “It’s twenty below zero out there now.  The snow is so deep that a bulldozer couldn’t get down a street, never mind up this mountain.”

“I think people who are hungry and short on supplies would try to risk it, though,” Anya observed.

“What makes you say that?”  Monroe asked.

“Because we’re the closest to Greenbrier,” Anya shrugged.  “They already know that Mount Weather is heavily armed, so taking them would be very risky anyway.”

“It’s not like they are going to be here tomorrow or anything,” Lincoln said.  “We’ve got time and we’ll see them coming long before they get here.”

“More than likely, they’ll all freeze to death on the way,” Indra interjected.

“Monty is busy trying to hack into their security systems, it shouldn’t be too hard, it’s Cold War era tech,” Lexa explained.  “We’ll be able to see exactly what they are up to soon enough.”

****  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Hazy Shade of Winter - Simon and Garfunkel


	25. London Calling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry for the long wait, depression is a bitch. I appreciate all of the comments, kudos, and encouragement. It may not be quite up to standard, but I couldn't keep you guys hanging any longer.

In sporadic conversations with the Becca Pram in Cheyenne Mountain, Lexa, Raven, and Monty learned a great deal about what was happening in the outside world.  Those who had fled to the West to escape the meteors, were now starving to death in the frozen wastelands of the deserts and mountains.  The below zero temperatures killed the crops and the livestock.  Famine had come to the land of plenty.  A new class of American Warlords, mostly made up of the paranoid militia men of the pre-apocalyptic world, slaughtered any who opposed them.   The thousands who had fled to sea perished in the storms and churning waters.  Any who had fled into the Atlantic were vaporized or crushed in the initial impact.

Across the oceans, information was slower to obtain.  Those that had survived the earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, sinkholes, flooding, avalanches, landslides, and atmospheric storms were finding new and creative ways to kill each other off.  In the harsh climates of northern Asia, they warred over the already limited resources.  In southern Asia, those that survived the tsunamis were dying of disease.   Nuclear reactors damaged in the tsunami’s melted down and polluted the water and food supplies.

In Europe, they were starving and well on their way back to the Dark Ages. 

There were rumors that islands near the equator were still habitable and had the resources to grow food.  After much discussion, Raven dismissed the idea as a fairy tale on par with Eldorado, Shangri-la, and the Fountain of Youth.  She estimated, based on her knowledge of the atmosphere and what she could measure outside of the bunker, that the planet’s average temperature had dropped eighty-seven degrees.  At the very most, temperatures on the equator were likely to be near zero.

****

**November 10, 2017**

The days had passed quietly again.  Raven had joined Monty in trying to gain access to Greenbrier’s security cameras, she was too pregnant to work in the Bat Cave, so all work on the water powered car stopped.  They decided it would probably behoove them to try to get a look into Mount Weather and Raven Rock as well.  They added another layer to their own computer security and worked for three days to better bury their code in the satellites.  

Between Anya and Nathan, the computer geeks were forced to eat on a regular schedule, reminded to take bathroom breaks, and at one point forced back to their shared bathroom to trade off taking showers and performing other general hygiene requirements.

Anya and Raven had not progressed very far in their relationship.  They shared a bed every night.  They cuddled and occasionally exchanged soft kisses, but only while locked away in their room away from prying eyes.  It was the bunker’s biggest secret that everybody knew, but nobody talked about.  Harper sat down with Raven once a week in the infirmary and tried to work through her PTSD.  Harper spent hours every night pouring over every psychiatric book in their libraries.  Once a week Anya and Lexa beat the crap out of each other in the gym instead of Anya going through therapy or exploding.

****

Lexa did not have any issues with her relationship.  There was no where else in the universe that Lexa Woods would rather be than between Dr. Clarke Griffin’s legs.  It was nirvana.  An intoxicating paradise of heady scents, exhilarating sounds, and exquisite flavors.  

“I fucking love your tongue,” Clarke panted between happy moans.  Lexa smiled before sucking gently on the doctor’s clit while slipping two fingers inside of her.  “And god those fingers, fuck!” 

“I’m trying, my love,” Lexa smirked up at her.  

Morning sex followed by a shared shower where they washed each other were still their preferred acts of intimacy.   Time that was just the two of them, absorbed only in each other.  Outside of their morning bubble there are animals to be cared for, patients to attend to, security measures to implement, nerds to keep occupied so they didn’t accidentally launch every nuclear warhead on the planet while hacking around it random satellites.  The days were just packed with managing the other residents of the bunker.

****

Lexa rifled through the desk drawers, “Love, do you know where my phone ended up?”  She called to Clarke who is still in the bathroom preparing for the day.

Clarke appeared in the doorway with a towel wrapped around her body, another wrapped around her hair, and a toothbrush in her mouth.  “I think they got tossed into a box in the closet,” she shrugged.  “They didn’t work anymore.”

“Monty thinks he can get them working again,” Lexa kissed her on the way past as she swept into the closet.

“Wait, does that mean I could play Super Mario Run again?”

****

Lexa carried her useless Galaxy and Clarke’s iPhone to the Watchtower where Monty was tinkering with his old LG.  “Clarke wants to know if you can get her games back?”

“Raven hacked into the Google servers, the Play store is still there, so, maybe,” Monty shrugged without looking up from the phone. 

“Did you manage to get a kill switch on Mount Weather’s missiles?”

“Yeah, I added a page to the manual with instructions to activate the code if I’m not available when you need it.”

“That’s very forward thinking of you,” Lexa nodded stiffly.

“I still can’t get any kind of firm information from Greenbrier’s system.  As long as they are out there, I don’t think we’re safe.”

“I don’t think anyone is safe,” Lexa agreed.

Monty was silent for a long moment.  “I think we need to make contact with Raven Rock.  Clarke knows Senator Kane, he’s a good guy and I think it would be nice to have a little backup.”

“I’ll talk to Clarke about it,” Lexa said reluctantly.

“I know, Commander.  Contacting Marcus Kane means Clarke will know definitively if her mother is alive or dead,” Monty said.  “I know all about her conflicts with her mother.  I was there for a lot of them.  I was there when Clarke was broken and lost.”

“I’ll talk to Clarke,” Lexa repeated.  She stood and moved to exit the Watchtower.  “Let me know if you get anywhere with the phones.”

Monty sighed audibly.  “She’s more herself now than she has been since her Dad died.  That’s because of you, Lexa.”

She paused with her hand on the door, unable to vocalize her thoughts.

“She’s kind of a badass, too,” Monty said.  “She’ll be okay, even if she thinks she won’t.”

****

Morning slipped into afternoon, Lexa still hadn’t spoken to Clarke about Raven Rock.  She had gone for a pretty intense run on the treadmill in the gym before the kids came in with Lincoln and Anya for training.  Dax slipped back out while Tristan handed out unloaded weapons.

After they had stretched and run through their self-defense routines, Dax and Tristan came in with M-16s and a box of bayonets.

“Bayonet training?”  Lexa paused in demonstrating a hold to Aden.

“Yes,” Anya said locking the blades onto the rifles.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  Lexa asked taking a bayonetted rifle from Lincoln.  She hadn’t run through bayonet drills since Ranger school.  Linc hadn’t done them since boot camp as the Army discontinued the training in 2010.   She stepped out into the center of the room and practiced a few drills.  Her war cry startled the kids and Lincoln chuckled at them.

He finished securing a blade to a rifle and met Lexa in the middle of the room.  “We should really have a dummy for this,” Lexa observed.

Dax pushed the door open hauling two bales of hay.

“That’ll do,” Linc said.  He and Lexa ran through a few blocks and drills together.  Very careful not to cut each other.

Tristan and Linc then demonstrated the movements on the hay bales, and helped as each of the kids went through them.  They had started to have fun doing their war cries and stabbing at the bales of hay.  Tris jumped forward, hit the hay with the butt of her rifle, and swung it around to stab through the hay.  Atom was standing next to her at the other bale, too close to the tip of Tris’ blade as she swung it around, slicing through the boys upper arm.

“Ow, what the fuck, Tris?”  Atom cried out.

“Shit,” Lincoln exclaimed as he grabbed the boy around the arm to stop the bleeding.  Lexa snatched the weapons away from the kids and handed them to Tristan with orders to secure everything back in the armory.

“Let’s get you to the infirmary,” Lexa said and steered Atom and Lincoln toward the door.

A little trail of blood droplets followed them two doors down the hallway into the infirmary where Clarke was lounging on the gurney reading a medical textbook.

Her eyes flicked up at the sound of footsteps coming toward her door.  Her passive look became very serious when she saw the blood dripping between Lincoln’s fingers.  “What happened?”  She shot off of the gurney and directed Atom onto the gurney while she gathered her supplies.

“We were doing bayonet training and Tris swung too wide and caught my arm,” Atom explained.  “And I said fuck and got away with it.”

Clarke whirled on Lexa.  “Bayonets, Lex?”

“Not my idea,” Lexa raised her hands in surrender.

“You didn’t stop it, though.  Did you?”  Clarke accused.

It was odd seeing a trained killer look so shamed by such a small, angry, woman.

“No more bayonets!”  Clarke shook a finger at both Lincoln and Lexa.

Lincoln swallowed and nodded.

“Okay,” Clarke had a handful of gauze.  “Let go and let me get a look.”

Lincoln moved out of the way quickly.  The bleeding had already started to slow.  Carefully the doctor peeled Atom’s shirt sleeve away.  “Looks like she got you pretty good,” she observed to Atom.  “You’re going to need some stitches.”  She squirted some iodine into the cut and on some more gauze pads and pressed it to the wound.  “Hold that on for a second for me,” Clarke instructed the boy.  She turned and pulled a suture kit out of the cabinet.  “Do you remember what we need to do first?”

Lincoln slipped out, Lexa took a seat in the extra chair.

“First, you have to clean the wound,” Atom recited.

“That’s right,” Clarke pulled out a syringe and a bottle.  “Then what?”

“Administer a local anesthetic,” he recited.

“Yep,” the doctor smiled.  She continued to talk him through what she was doing as she injected the local around the cut and examined it carefully before suturing it up.  Clarke pretended not to notice Lexa sitting quietly off to the side watching with soft eyes.

When Atom was all stitched and bandaged up, Clarke put him in a sling and sent him off to guilt Lincoln into ice cream.

****

When the boy was gone Clarke closed the door and locked eyes with Lexa. 

“No more bayonets,” Lexa said.

“They’re just kids, Lex.”

“I know but they need to be able to protect themselves and each other,” Lexa told her.  “We won’t always be here to do it.”

“They deserve to be kids,” Clarke insisted.

“I know, but sometimes we have to worry more about surviving than being kids,” Lexa replied.  “Since you’re already mad, we need to go ahead and talk about Raven Rock so you don’t get mad at me again later.”

Clarke narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend.  “What is there to talk about at Raven Rock?”

“Monty thinks,” Lexa paused.  “And I agree with him, that with having Nia Snow as a threat at Greenbrier we should have alliances with the other U.S. secure bunkers.”

“And you want me to talk to Uncle Marcus,” Clarke said with zero emotion.

“Yes.”

Clarke was silent while she cleaned up from Atom’s sutures.  Once her instruments were back in the sterilizer and all signs that a twelve year old boy needed twelve stitches were cleaned and sterile.  Lexa waited quietly and stayed out of the agitated doctor’s way.

“You’re right,” she finally said facing the Ranger.  “We need the backup.  Do we have any kind of video feed?”

“That’s one of the things Monty and Raven have been working on with the phones,” Lexa told her.  “By the way, Monty said Raven might be able to get back your Mario time.”

“You think that gets you off the hook for the bayonets?”  Clarke joked.

“No,” Lexa shook her head.

“Life is about more than surviving,” the doctor moved in front of her and put a hand on either side of the Ranger’s face.  “We  _ all _ deserve better than that.”

“No more bayonets,” Lexa agreed again.

“I love you,” Clarke kissed her forehead.

“I love you, too.”

****

**November 14, 2017**

_ Watchtower Base:  We’re contacting Raven Rock today. _

_ Cheyenne Mountain:  Thank you for the heads up. _

****

It had taken a few days to put together a package they could send to Raven Rock so that Marcus would be able to see Clarke and remember that she was a trusted friend.

Clarke sat down in front of the control station in the Watchtower and recorded her message.

“This message is for Senator Marcus Kane, my Godfather.  I’m Dr. Clarke Griffin and I am in a secure location with friends.  We are under threat from Nia Snow in Greenbrier base.  Execute the attached files from our tech team and plug a cell phone into a USB slot, and we will be able connect a video communication feed between the bunkers.  I look forward to hearing from you, Uncle Marcus,” Clarke pushed the button that Monty told her would end the recording and pushed away from the console.

Monty slipped back into his station with Raven hovering behind him.  He hit a few keys and sat back, pleased with their work.  “It’s sent.”  

Raven stared at a different screen waiting for something no one else understood.  She sighed happily when she saw what she was looking for, “It’s in their system.”  

Several moments passed before Raven’s laptop beeped.  “They opened the package.”  Raven was very quick to slip her hooks into their system so that she could easily plant a backdoor into their security system.

Raven typed away burying codes and commands while Clarke, Lexa, and Monty waited.

Ten minutes had passed before Monty’s screen jumped to life.  He shifted the camera toward Clarke’s position and cast the video feed toward the screens above the console.

Senator Marcus Kane appeared on the monitor.  He looked pensive until Monty opened the feed and Clarke appeared on his monitor.  Immediately his face relaxed and his eyes softened.  “Clarke,” his voice was relieved.  “You’re alive.”

“I am, Uncle Marcus,” Clarke smiled.  Relieved to see her father’s best friend for the first time in nearly a decade.  “You’re a pretty welcome sight, too.”

Kane smiled all the way to his eyes.  “You want to introduce me to your friends?”

Clarke glanced at the feed of herself on Raven’s laptop and could see part of Lexa and Monty’s arm.  She pointed to Monty.  “This is Monty Greene, I think you may have met him when we were kids.”  

Monty leaned into the camera view and said, “It’s good to see you again, Senator Kane.”

Clarke indicated Raven out of the shot, “I think you’ll remember my friend Raven Reyes from that time she built a rocket and accidentally launched it into my father’s car.”

“Oh, yes, Ms. Reyes,” Kane smiled.

“And back here,” Clarke pulled Lexa down next to her.  “This is Lexa, the love of my life.”

“Good afternoon, Senator,” Lexa greeted formally.

“Do I need to step in for Jake and do the Dad talk?”  Marcus’ genuine smile made his eyes twinkle.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Clarke replied.  An awkward silence grew between them.  

Lexa knelt down and made sure her face was in Kane’s frame.  “Senator Kane, we have received targeted threats from Greenbrier.”

“I see,” he nodded thoughtfully.  “How did Congresswoman Snow know where to find you?”

“Honestly, sir, we’re not sure,” Lexa replied.  “But we know they found our code in one of the satellites.  

The awkwardness hadn’t faded.

“Jesus, just address the elephant in the room,” Raven groused.  “Is Abby Griffin still alive?”

Marcus nodded slowly.  “She is, she’s here at Raven Rock.”

Clarke released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“She was relieved to learn that you were still alive, Clarke,” Marcus told them.  “She would very much like to talk to you, if you’re up to it.”

“Not today,” Clarke replied.

Marcus nodded but cut his eyes to something or someone off camera.  Lexa glanced at Clarke to see if she had noticed the motion.  From her set jaw, it was obvious that she had.

“I should tell you, Thelonius and Wells are here, too,” Marcus spoke carefully.

“Of course they are, the cockroaches always survive,” Clarke grimaced.

Marcus failed completely to keep from smirking at Clarke’s observation.  “Indubitably,” he said softly.  After a long moment, he cleared his throat.  “I don’t know what we can do from here, but we’ll support you against Nia.”

“That’s all we can ask, Senator Kane,” Lexa said professionally.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Sergeant Woods,” Kane’s eyes twinkled at Lexa’s surprise.  “You can’t fault me for checking with Ms. Pram.”

Lexa smirked.  “I think we’ll get along just fine, Senator Kane.”

****  
  
  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> London Calling - The Clash


	26. Learning to Fly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to offer are the same excuses and apologies. I will finish this story if it kills me.

**December 2017**

Time passed.  Calves were born, chicks were hatched, a certain husky pup had grown to full size, and a pair of raccoons learned how to get into the pantry and help themselves to any jars they could open.  More often than not, the growing raccoons were inside the bunker.  True to his word, Lincoln managed to potty train the little scavengers but the dogs still dug out into their snow caves several times a day.

Chores and jobs had shifted a bit as everyone settled into life in the bunker.  Dax, Tristan, and Anya did the bulk of the farm work.  Lincoln focused on breeding and slaughtering.  Gustus had taken charge of the kitchen with Octavia and occasionally Lincoln also cooking.  Aden and Tris were on clean up and learning to cook.

Miller worked with Jasper in the gardens, learning everything about keeping them in fresh fruit and vegetables, and beer.    


Raven and Monroe had declared themselves in charge of armaments and mostly made a wide assortment of bombs and booby-traps out of everyday household supplies.  Emori’s shift to overnights so she had more time with Murphy made the steam powered car her own personal project. 

Atom was training to be a doctor with Harper and Clarke.  The doctors found that teaching Atom helped them to keep their knowledge fresh.  Since he was still so young, they restricted his education to reading and studying anatomy and sitting in on the treatment of scrapes and bruises.  Which there were still plenty of because everyone trained with Lexa and Anya every day.  Some got more training than others, like Miller, Aden, and Tris as they were all strong fighters.  Others just had basic self defense and calisthenics to keep them in shape locked inside the mountain.

The kids had ‘school’ with Lexa and Indra every day.  The adults had all agreed that knowledge and education needed to continue in the new world.  While neither had ever been teachers, between the two of them they managed a course of instruction that was part high school, part basic training, and part war college.

******  
  
**

Monty was in the Watchtower rewriting some code that allowed him to use line of sight to pick up communications from every satellite still in orbit around the Earth when a video call rang from Raven Rock.  They had been in regular contact with Kane and his tech team over the last few weeks so a call wasn’t unusual.  Monty clicked the screen on and saw a face he hadn’t seen since the night he and Clarke graduated from high school.

“Dr. Griffin,” he couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice.

“Monty Green,” Abby Griffin nodded at him through the screen.

“What can I do for you today?”  Monty asked carefully.  Out of the view of the camera he sent Lexa an S-O-S in Morse code through the walkie talkie.

“I’d like to talk to my daughter,” Abby replied matter of factly.

Monty dithered for a few moments trying to figure out what to do when Lexa burst in loaded for bear.  Literally, she had a high powered rifle in one hand and an ammo case in the other.  “What’s wrong?”  She asked scanning the monitors before her eye fell on the one with a stone faced Abby Griffin.  Lexa had never seen Clarke’s mother so no recognition flickered on her face.  “Who’s calling?”

“This is Clarke’s mom,” Monty told her.

Lexa’s face went from cautious concern to Army Ranger in a flash.  “What can I help you with Doctor Griffin?”  Lexa’s voice was even and emotionless.

“You must be Sergent Woods,” Abby’s eyes were clearly locked on to Lexa’s weapon.

“I am,” Lexa nodded.

“The communications team around here calls you Commander Lexa,” Abby said.  “I can see why.”

“Doctor Griffin, I have a cow in labor and Clarke shoulder deep into her trying to turn the breech calf around so we don’t lose them both.  I do not have time for small talk,” Lexa snapped.  Lexa had been in the infirmary grabbing Clarke’s medical kit when Monty’s SOS came through.  She had darted across the hall into the armory before running to the Watchtower.

“I would like to speak to my daughter,” the surprise at Lexa’s announcement was evident on her face, but not in her voice.

“I’ll pass along the message,” Lexa walked out shaking her head.

“She seems … nice,” Abby joked.

“Actually, she is, Lexa’s pretty great,” Monty told her.  “She has a very low tolerance for bullshit, though.”

“Are you implying that my request is ‘bullshit’ Monty?”  Dr. Griffin raised her eyebrows at him.  If he was still sixteen and hiding an ounce of pot in the Griffin’s umbrella stand, the intimidation may have worked.  But Monty Green had been living in a bunker with Lexa Woods and Anya Forrester for six months.  Abby Griffin couldn’t scare him.  Indra still scared him a bit, though.

“To be honest, a little,” Monty told her.  “She knows you’re there, she knows you want to speak to her.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me,” Abby said sadly.

“All due respect, ma’am, but can you blame her?”

“It’s a different world now, Monty.”

“It is, it’s a world where you stick with people that you can trust.  People who don’t turn their backs and walk away when you need them the most.”

Abby sighed.

“Very well, Monty.”  The screen went black.

“Jesus, I need a fattie,” Monty sighed.

******  
  
**

“There are few things that smell as foul as the inside of a cow,” Lincoln observed as he helped Clarke pull the calf the final few inches out of his mother.

“You aren’t the one who had to physically get inside of the cow,” Clarke groused.

“Oh, yeah, you smell terrible, too,” Lincoln joked.

The calf struggled to his feet as Lexa made her way into the cavern carrying Clarke’s medical kit.  “Are they okay?” She called before her eyes fell to the unsteady calf.

“They’re fine,” Clarke patted the cow.  “What took so long?”

“Your mother called,” Lexa said patting the cow.

“She actually called herself instead of having Marcus ask after me?”  Clarke scoffed.

“She did,” Lexa nodded.

“What did you tell her?”  Clarke asked.

“That you were elbow deep in a cow and I would pass along the message.”  Lexa handed her the kit and she proceeded to give the new calf a quick exam.

In the meantime, Rosie appeared from behind a hay bale and climbed up Lincoln’s leg and onto his shoulder to chitter into his ear.

“I told you no,” Lincoln told the raccoon.  Rosie climbed down him and scuttled across to Lexa.  “I can’t believe you’re going over my head,” he shook his head.

The little raccoon climbed up Lexa and chittered at her.  “I have no idea what she wants.”

Linc nodded his head toward Guildenstern sitting on a bale of hay trying to force open a sealed package of freeze dried blueberries.

“What did I tell you about sneaking food out of the pantry?”  Lexa scratched the raccoon on the back of her head.  “Denny, put it back,” Lexa ordered.  Guildenstern waved the package at her before making another attempt to tear into it.  “Mutiny, huh?’  Lexa handed Rosencrantz to Linc and marched toward Denny on the hay bale.  The raccoon fled, with the package.  Before Lexa made it to the raccoons former perch, Teddy trotted out from behind it with the package of dried blueberries.  He presented them to Lexa while wagging his tail.  “Good boy, Teddy,” Lexa scratched him and slipped him a piece of jerky from her secret treat pocket.  Guildenstern reappeared at the top of the hay bale and chittered furiously at the husky.

“What was that?”  Lincoln cocked an eyebrow at his friend.

“What was what?”  Lexa deflected.

Clarke laughed packing away her kit.  “You didn’t know about Lexa’s super secret treat pocket?”

“You knew about my treat pocket?”  Lexa was incredulous.

“Babe, I’ve done your laundry,” Clarke grinned.  “The list of odd shit I have fished out of your assortment of pockets would get you placed on an FBI watch list if the FBI still existed.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Lexa scoffed.

“I pulled out what could only be described as an IED just last week,” Clarke said.

“I confiscated that from Raven.”

“I’ve pulled out cake, cookies, jerky, apple slices …”

“All perfectly normal snacks,” Lexa interjected.

“Nuts, bolts, screws, firing pins, a butterfly knife… Where did you even get a butterfly knife?”

“I took it away from Aden and Tris,” Lexa wrinkled her nose at Clarke’s nearness.  “You need to go shower, Linc can finish up here.”

“Are you saying I stink?”  The doctor stepped closer to the ranger.

“Yes,” Lexa stepped away.

****

After seeing Clarke into a shower, Lexa returned to the armory to clean up the mess she had left in her haste to heed Monty’s SOS.  Having seen cabinets re-secured and ammo cans properly stacked she stuck her head into the Watchtower to check in with Monty.

Needless to say, she was both surprised and confused to see a very pregnant Raven devouring a heaping plate of Lincoln’s homemade potato chips while covering the Watchtower.

“Where’s Monty?”  Lexa stepped inside.

Raven switched the camera to the greenhouse where Miller, Monty, and Jasper were partaking of some anti-anxiety treatments.  “I had to fight them to keep my potato chips.”

“Seriously?”  Lexa shook her head at them.

“I think the call from Abby shook him up a little,” Raven stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth.  “You’re not going to tell Anya about the junk food are you?"  Anya’s mission to make Raven eat well was at direct odds with Raven’s need for extinct junk food.  Lincoln was a sucker for a pout and did his best to recreate the engineer's cravings with the available ingredients.  Gustus wasn't as good at recipe improvisation, but he made a mean roast chicken and knew how to make pickles.  


"Seriously, she'll withhold sex if she finds out I'm eating chips, fried cheese, and pickles.”  It had taken Raven awhile to get there, but once she had, she declared Anya the greatest lover she had ever known.  Pregnancy hormones kept the engineer worked up so Anya's threats to withhold sex were something Raven was desperate to keep from happening.  Not desperate enough to not eat junk food, just desperate to not get caught.

Lexa saw no fried cheese or pickles, but there was evidence that both had already been consumed.

“I spent a decade fighting to protect your right to eat greasy, salty foods and scream obscenities at sports teams,” Lexa deadpanned.  “Anything that annoys Anya is okay with me.”

Lexa turned her attention back to the greenhouse.  She keyed on her walkie mic.

******  
  
**

Jasper had the giggles.  They were contagious in that a really high Lincoln thought that Jasper’s giggles were hilarious leading them into a giggle loop followed by Monty, Nathan, Octavia, and Clarke.  

Harper passed through distributing water on her way to Monroe and the kids in the game room, well away from the medicinal herb in the living area.  Both doctors agreed that there should be no partaking of the pot until brains were fully developed.  Monty began to point out Clarke’s hypocrisy, but was shushed by Nate.

Lexa did not partake, she felt that as the recognized commander of the base, it was her responsibility to be clear headed when half of her charges were getting wrecked.  She did however enjoy that a high Clarke was a tactile Clarke and cuddles were almost as high a priority as munchies.

“... and Clarke’s standing there, with bloodshot eyes, high as a kite with a baggie of joints stuffed in her bikini bottoms, pretending to be distraught over a dead squirrel in the yard so Jake doesn’t realize that all four of us were completely baked and hanging around his pool,” Octavia howled with laughter and Monty was laughing so hard he had gone to silent shaking.  “So Jake says, ‘Monty, can’t you at least bring around a strain that doesn’t smell like something died in a skunks ass.’  Then he just walks inside all sassy like.”

“Oh, God, I miss Jake,” Monty had tears coming out of his eyes he was laughing so hard.

“He sounds like a hell of a guy, Clarke,” Nathan said.

“He was,” Clarke agreed and took another hit before passing the pipe to Octavia.  “I miss him, too.”  She curled into Lexa’s side and played with the Rangers long fingers.

“Do we have anymore of those chips from earlier?”  Octavia poked at Linc’s side.

“I think Raven finished them,” Lexa said.

“I need a grilled cheese,” Jasper announced.

“With bacon,” Monty added.

“Oh hell yeah,” Jasper jumped up and ran for the kitchen with Monty and Nate close behind.

“You think they’ll make some for us, too?”  Octavia wondered.

“Probably not,” Lexa told her.  

“Babe, babe, babe,” Octavia poked Linc repeatedly.  “I need a bacon grilled cheese, too!”  She continued to poke and prod him until he got up and dragged her off to the kitchen with him.

Clarke and Lexa were left alone.  Lexa kissed the top of the doctor’s head.  “You good?”

“Yeah,” Clarke said softly. “Will you put pickles on my grilled cheese with bacon?”

“Whatever you want, my love,” Lexa replied standing them up.

“I love you,” Clarke wrapped her arms around her Ranger.

******  
  
**

Christmas had managed to sneak up on them as the whole planet had looked like Christmas for six months.  Being at a loss as to how to celebrate the holiday in a bunker, they amused each other by trying to recall  _ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas _ from memory.  The exercise led to almost as much arguing as laughing.

******  
  
**

**January 8th, 2018**

**3:04 AM**

 

Lexa was sleeping good.  Warm and comfortable with Clarke draped over her.  She might have been dreaming about lying on a warm beach in the Pacific, a nice breeze blowing through the palm fronds, waves rolling lazily up onto the sand.  A beautiful doctor next to her with her blonde waves gently stirring in the breeze, ample bosom in a barely contained in a bikini.

_ BAM!  BAM!  BAM! _

“What the fuck?”  Clarke’s warmth rolled away from the Ranger.

_ BAM!  BAM!  BAM!  _  “Clarke, get up!”  Anya’s voice shouted through the door.

“Jesus, is she using a sledgehammer?”  Lexa groaned, annoyed at having been pulled out of a dream where she was warm and could feel the sun on her face.  Clarke had them all taking Vitamin D supplements and spending an hour a day under the grow lights in the greenhouse because of the lack of sunshine.  Usually they used it as an opportunity to drink beer.

_ BAM!  BAM!  BAM! _

“WHAT?!”  Clarke shouted as she yanked open the door.  Too tired and irritated to care that she hadn’t bothered to to put on the t-shirt she grabbed on the way to the door.

“Raven’s in labor,” Anya’s panicked face gave Clarke pause.

Clarke rubbed her face.  “How far apart are the contractions?”

“They’re down to five minutes,” Anya answered.

“Okay, keep her in the bed, I’ll be there in five minutes,” Clarke closed the door and moved to locate clothes.  Lexa was already standing behind her with underwear, jeans, and a clean t-shirt.  Clarke leaned in for a kiss before dressing quickly.

“Are we doing this in their bed?”  Lexa asked putting on clothes of her own.

“Yeah, it’ll be more comfortable than the infirmary,” Clarke replied.

****

On the way to the infirmary to pick up her medical kit and the birthing kit, they woke Harper, who left a sleepy Monroe in their bed.  Harper, Monroe, Emori, and Murphy shared a room, but with Murphy on night shift and Emori usually with him in the Watchtower or out in the Batcave overnight, they rarely had any privacy issues.  They had unstacked the bunk beds and bolted them together into two kings.  Spare blankets were stitched into mattress covers to keep them from separating in the night.  It wasn’t an ideal, rooming arrangement, but they had a system and no one was uncomfortable.

The ruckus of Anya beating on Clarke and Lexa’s door had awakened Miller and Monty who were in Anya and Raven’s room when Clarke and Lexa arrived with the needed supplies and equipment.

After getting everything laid out the way she and Harper wanted it, Clarke tried to move Raven into position.  Raven was in the middle of a contraction, but still indicated her reluctance to expose herself to the whole room.

“Raven, I need to see how far you’ve dilated,” Clarke reasoned.

“This is not a peep show,” Raven growled through her contraction.

Clarke grabbed a sheet and threw it over Raven’s legs.  “Better?”

Raven complied and it wasn’t long before Clarke declared her ready to push.

Anya stayed up at Raven’s side whispering in her ear and placing soft kisses on her head.  Clarke occasionally caught a sweet word or two but would never admit that she had heard a thing.  Lexa, Monty, Miller, Lincoln, and Octavia paced out in the hall while Raven shouted obscenities and Clarke shouted encouragements back. 

Jacapo Sinclair Forrester arrived screaming into the world a little before seven am.  Before Clarke and Harper had even finished cleaning him up, Raven had nicknamed him Boomer.  There had been a great deal of discussion between Raven and Anya about their son’s name over the last several months.  Raven had decided to give him Anya’s surname because her own surname didn’t hold any meaning for her.  She had named her son after the man who gave her a job and the best shot at escaping the life her mother gave her.

He had a shock of jet black hair, dark eyes, and latte colored skin.  Everyone agreed he was a beautiful boy.  After the other residents of the bunker had a moment to coo over the new arrival, everyone moved off to start the day leaving the new parents to bond with the boy.    


****  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Learning to Fly" - Tom Petty (RIP) and the Heartbreakers


	27. Down With Disease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, I'm back.
> 
> I can't apologize enough for my long absences. Yourkudos and comments mean the world. Thanks for being patient.

**March 2018**

****

Lexa finds Clarke with the Clydesdales.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern wrestle on a nearby hay bale, the young raccoons occasionally chittering in the doctor's direction.  Tristan is mucking out the cow paddock while Dax shifts dried dung into the burn pile.

Clarke is in a position that, frankly, makes Lexa nervous.  Turned backwards straddling the leg of one of the massive horses, using a very large pair of clippers and a file to trim down the hoof.  She approaches slowly to not startle the huge horse.  

Lexa takes in the chunks and shavings of keratin scattered around the pen.  “It makes me nervous when you do horse pedicures.”

“It’s got to be done,” Clarke huffs cutting through another chunk.  “Walks around in here aren’t enough to wear them down.”

“You know,” Tristan says, leaning against his shovel.  “I could do with a bit of fresh air.  Why don’t Dax and I take out two to ride the perimeter every day?”

“They could use the exercise,” Clarke dropped the hoof she just finished shaving down and patted the mare’s side.  “Huh, Ophelia, you’re getting a little chunky.”  The horse nickered and took the carrot Lexa produced from her many pockets of treats.  “That’s why she’s chunky,” Clarke rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” Lexa nodded and scratched the mare.  “But stay alert, Monty has been logging starving predators hunting a meal on the mountain.”

****

**April 9, 2018**

****

“Why are your ears so tiny?”  Clarke nibbled on Lexa’s tiny ears.  They were cuddled together on the loveseat with Clarke wrapped around Lexa from behind.  “How do you hear like a bat with these tiny little ears?”

“Clarke, that tickles,” Lexa giggled.

Clarke loved these soft quiet moments when Lexa was just a woman and not a killing machine.  The moments when the Ranger giggled, or laughed so hard at something the doctor said or did that she snorted.

“Does this tickle?”  Clarke began dropping butterfly kisses just behind those tiny ears.

Lexa giggled again.  “Yes.”

“I fucking love you,” Clarke smiled into the back of the Ranger’s neck.  “And your tiny little ears.”

“ _ Commander _ ,” Murphy’s voice came out of the walkie talkie charging on the night stand.  

Still smiling, Lexa peeled Clarke off of her to retrieve it.  Bo and Teddy looked up from their dog pile on the bed, Teddy wagged lazily at his person without otherwise moving.  “Go ahead, Murph,” she said into the walkie.

“ _ Did Monty say anything to you about a sensor malfunctioning? _ ”  Murphy asked.

“He did not,” she replied.  “What is it reading?”

“ _ It’s blinking off and on _ ,” John told her.  “ _ Maybe it’s just a short, but someone should probably check on it soon _ .”

“Roger that, Murph,” Lexa replaced the walkie in the charging cradle.  She thought for a moment before heading out to knock on Monty and Nate’s door, Clarke followed.  The dogs hopped off the bed and watched from the doorway.

A drowsy Nathan opened the door wearing only his pajama bottoms with a toothbrush in his mouth.  He raised an eyebrow at the Ranger.

“Is Monty still up?”  She asked politely.

Nathan pointed over his shoulder in the general direction of the shared bathroom.

“Tell him I need to see him before he goes to bed,” Lexa told him.

Nate nodded and wiped a little toothpaste drool off his chin.

Lexa moved down the hall to Raven and Anya’s room.  She knocked very softly to not wake little Boomer.  He was three months old now and had serious reservations about sleeping.  Much like his mother, the little guy was afraid he might miss something fun if he went to sleep.

Anya opened the door, behind her she could see Raven pacing with little Boomer cradled in her arms, refusing to fall asleep.  “What’s up?” 

“I need to consult with Rae,” Lexa said. 

Clarke slipped past Anya and took Boomer from Raven.  She cooed and kissed his chubby little cheeks.  Boomer giggled that adorable baby giggle that melted the doctor’s heart.

Raven approached Lexa and leaned against Anya.  It was distinctly possible that Raven hadn’t gotten more than two hours of sleep at a time in three months.  She didn’t even have the energy to speak, she just grunted in Lexa’s general direction.

“Murphy just called and said one of the sensors is malfunctioning,” Lexa stated.

Raven just looked at her, waiting for further information.

“It’s blinking off and on.”

A light knock came from the door connecting Raven and Anya and Monty and Nathan’s rooms.  “Yeah,” Anya called.

Monty slipped in wearing his pajamas with hair still damp from the shower.  “What’s up?”

“Did you have any problems with the sensors today?”  The Ranger asked.

Monty shook his head.

“Murphy said one of them is malfunctioning.”

“Raven made a few extras, we’ll send one out with Tristan and Dax tomorrow to swap it out,” Monty said.

“I’ll go, too,” Anya volunteered.

“Nope,” Raven said.  “You’ll have to babysit while I walk whoever goes out through the installation.”

“I was with you when you installed them,” Anya reasoned.

“Diaper duty, babe,” Raven yawned.

“Clarke, give Raven her son,” Lexa ordered good naturedly.  Clarke had the boy up in the air while she blew raspberries on his pudgy baby belly making him giggle.  “Let them get some sleep.”

Clarke reluctantly handed over the giggling boy and followed Lexa back to their room.

“You’re kind of a natural at that,” Lexa observed.

“At what?”  Clarke was moving around the room getting ready for bed.

“Babies,” Lexa said.

“They’re cute and fun,” Clarke smiled.  “But I really enjoy getting a full eight hours of sleep.”

“No regrets?”  Lexa asked carefully.

“Babe, we adopted a pack of teenagers,” Clarke wrapped her arms around the Ranger’s shoulders and pulled her close pressing their foreheads together.  “We have enough kids.”

“So, if I find a baby in the woods, I should leave it?”  Lexa joked.

“Nah, bring it home, we can fit two in the crib in Raven’s room,” Clarke smiled.

****

**April 10, 2018**

****

Monty and Raven sat in the Watchtower staring at the screens.  They had attached small cameras to Tristan and Dax before sending them out this morning.  

Anya had Boomer in the grain garden with Jasper getting his daily dose of “sunlight”.  They used to hang out in the greenhouse downstairs, but the strawberries kept mysteriously disappearing from their vines so they were banished to the grain “fields”.  Jasper had been trying to produce cotton alongside the grains with no luck so far.

Raven could hear her son squealing with glee from the next room and she watched Dax shakily riding up to the perimeter where the sensor had malfunctioned.

“ _ Something has been out here, _ ” Tristan’s voice came through a speaker.  Raven switched her attention to Tristan’s camera view, seeing his hand pointing out to where the snow had been disturbed.  It was hard to see through the grainy camera, neither of them could make any sense of the scattered and packed snow.

“Do you see any tracks?”  Monty asked.

“ _ No, _ ” Tristan replied.  “ _ Too much snow has fallen on top of it. _ ”

“Alright, one of you keep watch while the other replaces that sensor,” Raven ordered.

Raven watched as Dax hopped off of his mount and pulled the replacement sensor from his saddlebags.  She talked him through the installation while Monty watched Tristan’s camera.

Tristan seemed to be moving around nervously.  For a man as large and imposing as Tristan, nervous fidgeting was out of character.

“What’s going on, Tristan?”  Monty asked.

“ _ I don’t know _ ,” he replied.  “ _ I kind of feel like we’re being watched _ .”

“I don’t see anything on the sensors,” Monty assured him.

****

Tristan and Dax had just finished sealing up the cavern when Dax’s vision blurred red.  “Tee, something’s wrong.”

As Tristan turned to see the blood dripping from Dax’s eyes, Dax began to vomit blood.

“HELP!!  I NEED HELP OUT HERE!”  Tristan shouted into his headset before his vision blurred red.  


****

Harper burst into the Bat Cave where Dax and Tristan were knelt on the cave floor, bleeding from their eyes, noses, and ears while vomiting more blood.  She had run ahead while Lexa and Clarke ran into the infirmary to collect supplies.  Monty had told them what he heard and saw on the monitors, but that didn’t give them any idea of what might be needed.  Without even the need for a thermometer, she could feel Dax’s skin burning.  His fever had to be over a hundred already.  Tristan was the same, their pupils were dilated and both shook violently.

“What happened?”  Harper asked while examining them for wounds.  “Did you get bitten by something?”

“N-n-n-n-o,” Dax stammered between violent shivers.  The shivers changed to seizures before Harper’s eyes.  She caught him before he could fall and crack his skull on the rock floor of the cave, barely shoving him onto his side before Tristan started to seize.

By the time Clarke and Lexa arrived, both men were unconscious.  After seeing the scene in the Bat Cave, Lexa insisted that Clarke put on a gas mask before entering the cave.  After a brief but tense argument, Lexa ended up wearing one as well.

“We need stretchers,” Harper yelled as she heard them running.

She knew the cold feeling that a fever caused would have gone unnoticed by the two men who had been out in subzero temperatures for over an hour.  However, the Bat Cave was kept at a pretty constant sixty-eight degrees by the fire barrels spread throughout the caves.  

Lexa dropped the bag she was carrying and turned to run back to the infirmary for stretchers.  She waved Clarke on to help Harper.

When Clarke knelt next to Harper the surgeon shot her a look.  “Overkill much?”

“Have you met my girlfriend?”  Clarke said handing Harper a med kit.  “It was all I could do to not have to put on full MOP gear.”

Harper chuckled.  “Hemorrhagic fevers, both of them seized before falling unconcious.”

“Viral?”

“Probably,” Harper sighed.  

They heard running footsteps before Murphy, Emori, Nathan, and Lincoln appeared in the cave mouth with stretchers.  

“Don’t come in here without a gas mask!”  Harper shouted.  All four dropped their hauls and darted back into the bunker for MOP gear.  At least Murphy, Emori, and Lincoln were experts at MOP gear and could help Nathan into his.

“We need to get them into the infirmary and on fluids,” Clarke said.

Lexa re-joined them followed by Lincoln, Miller, Murphy, and Emori.  Her voice was muffled by the mask.  “I got Raven and the kids in the stairwell where the scrubbers will protect them from any airborne contaminants.”

“Good call,” Harper said.  “I feel cold.”

“Shit,” Clarke sighed.

****

**April 11, 2018**

****

Dax died a few minutes after midnight.  Despite her best efforts, Clarke could not get his fever down.   Tristan died a little after one in the morning.  As soon as they had gotten the men into the infirmary, Clarke had injected Harper with a cocktail of antivirals.  The surgeon still bled from her eyes and nose and vomited blood, but her fever was easier to get under control.  She was heavily drugged and under a blanket of ice and snow in the infirmary.  

 

Sometime after four in the morning, Anya woke to Monty screaming.  Nathan was bleeding from his eyes.  Anya helped him half carry Miller to the infirmary where Clarke and Lexa were reading every medical text in the bunker looking for the virus so she could treat it without using all of their stockpile of antivirals.

She sighed and pulled out the vials of medicine before shooting Miller with the same cocktail she had used on Harper.

****

By ten in the morning, Monty, Aden, Atom, Tris, Monroe, Anya, and Octavia were all showing symptoms.  Clarke had ordered each of them into their beds after injecting them with the antivirals.  Jasper, Raven, and Boomer were sealed into the greenhouse with a supply of food.   


Lexa, Lincoln, Indra, Gustus, Murphy, and Emori seemed to be immune to the virus.  Clarke suspected that one of the many inoculations that active duty military personnel were given protected them from the virus.  Tristan was an anomaly that Clarke couldn’t account for, it was possible that Tristan was patient zero and not Dax as she had originally supposed.  Maybe the airborne virus wasn’t as strong as the original and therefore able to be killed by the military inoculations.  They may never know for certain.  

 

By dinnertime, Harper’s fever was coming down and none of the others seemed to be in any serious danger.  Lexa, Lincoln, Indra, Gustus, Murphy, and Emori were still asymptomatic.  They had all been moving around the bunker without masks since lunchtime.

Linc and Gus took Tristan and Dax’s bodies out and burned them.  Indra had taken up post in the Watchtower while Monty was sick. 

****

It was very late and Lexa was in the infirmary with Clarke and the still unconscious Harper.  Clarke dozed fitfully in the mask while Lexa kept watch over them. 

“ _ Commander, there’s something out there, _ ” Indra’s voice came overhead in the infirmary.  “ _ A lot of somethings. _ ”

Clarke sat up, suddenly wide awake.  She exchanged a look with Lexa.

The thought struck her like lightning.  “Biological warfare,” Clarke said through the masks filters.  


The fury was evident on Lexa’s face.  Clarke followed as the Ranger stormed into the Watchtower.  

She pulled up different windows and screens and found the heat sensors.  Sure enough, the area where Tristan and Dax had replaced the broken sensor was overrun with human heat signatures.

“It’s an invasion,” Lexa growled.

“Who?”  Indra asked.

“Probably Nia Snow,” Lexa’s jaw twitched.  She took a moment to compose herself.  “Indra, wake everyone, anyone who isn’t sick needs to meet us in the living room.”  She tapped a few keys before bringing up the Greenhouse.  “Raven, I’m sorry, but I need you suited up and in the Watchtower.”

A very groggy Raven appeared on the screen.  “ _ What’s wrong? _ ”

“Greenbriar’s here.”

“ _ Shit, _ ” Raven swore and disappeared.  She reappeared on the feed a moment later.  “ _ If Jasper breaks my kid, I’m blaming you. _ ”

****

They locked the bunker down, including a door Clarke hadn’t even known existed between the Bat Cave and the farm.  Lexa and Lincoln further barricaded that door with scrap metal from Raven’s projects, fencing, and hay bales.  Raven switched off all non-essential systems to conserve the batteries in case the invaders found a way to cut the power without destroying the wind turbines.  They had weighed the options and agreed that the invaders probably wouldn’t damage the turbines in hopes of moving into the bunker themselves.  The solar panels were still buried under several feet of snow, it was unlikely that the invasion force was even aware of their existence.  The turbines were a little harder to hide in the naked forest.

****

**April 12, 2018**

****

Morning dawned and Harper awoke.  She was weak and groggy, but had suffered no permanent damage from the fever.  Monty felt well enough to retake the Watchtower alongside the still masked Raven.  Jasper and Boomer stayed secured in the Greenhouse.  Aden, Tris, and Atom had bounced back fast and were in the kitchen scrounging up breakfast before Lincoln even made it out to the farm.

Miller was still in bed, the virus having gotten a stronger foothold in his system.  His fever had broken and he was sleeping the rest of it off.

Everyone else was up and moving, albeit a little slower than normal.  

Lexa, Anya, Indra, and Gustus spent most of the evening and morning going back and forth between the Watchtower and the conference room.  Maps spread across the table and places where Raven had placed booby traps marked with a red ‘X’, cameras marked with an eye, and sensors marked with circles.

The lightest part of the day came around 2pm, it was closer to late dusk than daylight but necessary to get a good look at what they were up against.

Lexa and Lincoln wanted to go out through the cabin door.  There were enough sensors and cameras there to know that no one was currently up there.  Anya argued that it was probably being watched because there was a pretty obvious Blackhawk helicopter up there, but repeated checks of the cameras and sensors returned zero disturbances on the mountaintop.

Monty wanted to send out the drone first, Lincoln argued that if they were already up there they might as well just go out themselves.

Clarke eventually ended the argument by telling Lexa that if the doctor had to keep wearing that fucking gas mask then there was no way in hell that the Ranger was going out there blind.  Lincoln went up to put the drone outside.  Lexa and Clarke joined Raven and Monty in the Watchtower.

Monty controlled the drone while the others watched the sensors and the video.  Monty went wide around the perimeter to avoid being seen until they had gotten a good look at the invading force.  

“Fuuucck,” Raven breathed looking at the screens.  Two tanks, several humvees, and at least sixty men.

“There is but one working castle gate. And it is guarded by... sixty men,” Monty quoted.

“And our assets?”  Raven replied.

“Our brains, Linc's strength, Lexa’s aim,” Monty deadpanned.

Lexa shot them a look.

“If you can’t joke about your impending death, then what’s the point,” Monty said.

Lexa looked back at the video feed.  “Wait, can you zoom in on that guy?”

Monty did, the image was fuzzy, but enough for Lexa.  “Son of a bitch.”

“Who is it?”  Clarke asked, leaning in.

“Major Roan Prince,” Lexa scowled.  “I did a tour in Iraq with him.  Egotistical prick.”

Roan turned and his eyes found the drone.  He smirked and waved at it before pulling his sidearm and shooting it down.

“I’m glad we have a whole case of those,” Monty sighed.

“Let’s go ahead and call Cheyenne and Raven Rock so they know what’s going on,” Lexa finally said after a long silence.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not sorry for the cliffhanger.
> 
> "Down With Disease" - Phish


	28. Helter Skelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not edited but you guys deserved a Christmas present.

**April 12, 2018**

****

“ _There’s not much I can do from here Sergeant Woods,_ ” Becca admitted.

 _“You can’t sit back and do nothing while that crazy woman attacks another shelter,”_ Abby Griffin growled from another monitor.  Lexa could see Senator Kane trying to calm Clarke’s mother.  

The doctor still hadn’t spoken directly to her mother, in fact, this post-apocalyptic video conference was the first time Clarke had been in the room when the elder Dr. Griffin and the senator called.

 _“Dr. Griffin, what exactly do you propose I do?  Launch a missile that is just as likely to destroy a self sustaining bunker and kill its inhabitants as not?”_  President Pram argued.   _“Should I send my non-existent battalion of troops to lay siege to Greenbrier?  What exactly should I be doing?”_  

If Lexa hadn’t been so furious about the biological attack and invasion force she would have laughed.  As it was, Raven tried to repress a snort in her gas mask.  Clarke was stone faced.  Lexa was pretty sure Pram, Kane, nor Abby could see her face through the mask, but she appreciated the effort nonetheless.

 _“Order them to return to Greenbrier,”_ Abby demanded.  Marcus visibly winced at Abby’s words.

Raven lost it and laughed.

Becca Pram, acting President of the Post-Apocalyptic United States of America, rolled her eyes.  Whether it was at Raven’s laugh or Abby’s naivete, Lexa was unsure.   _“Sergeant Woods,”_ Lexa returned her attention to Becca.   _“Governor Wallace at Mount Weather is preparing a missile to launch at Greenbrier should Representative Snow refuse to cease hostilities.  I’m sorry I can’t do more.”_

“Understood, Madame President,” Lexa nodded.

 _“Please keep me informed,”_ Becca cut her feed before Abby could launch into another tirade.

Abby blustered behind Marcus who had stepped forward to try to prevent Clarke’s mother from further angering the Watchtower Base Commander. _“We can’t offer much in the way of support, I’m afraid,”_ he apologized. _“If you need to evac you can come here.”_

Clarke released a sardonic laugh.  Considering that her mother and kicked her out and cut her off a decade ago, the doctor didn’t believe any offer to reside in the same building as Abby should be taken seriously.

Lexa nodded at Marcus while taking note of the sudden change in Abigail Griffin’s expression and demeanor having heard Clarke’s laugh.

 _“Clarke,”_ her mother pushed passed Senator Kane looking for her long estranged daughter.

Lexa looked at her girlfriend.  Clarke was trembling slightly, her fists were clenched tightly and the corners of her mouth turned down.  She glared at the woman on the screen before cutting her eyes to Lexa in a silent question.  Lexa nodded imperceptibly and Clarke turned on her heel and exited the Watchtower.

“I really don’t think that’s going to be an option, Senator,” Lexa finally said to break the tense silence.

Kane looked at Abby, who was obviously trying to hold back tears, before looking back at Lexa.   _“The offer still stands.  Good luck, Commander.”_

The screen went dark and Lexa rushed out after Clarke.

Monty and Raven exchanged looks.  

****

Out in the hallway, Lexa spotted the open conference room door.  Clarke was sitting in one of the chairs spinning lazily.  She didn’t stop as soon as the Ranger entered, so she stood in the doorway and waited for the doctor to finish her rotation.  Clarke stopped when she faced Lexa and sighed into her mask.

“We’re not going to Raven Rock,” Lexa told her.

“Can I take this mask off yet?”

“I’m not an epidemiologist, love.”

“Neither am I,” Clarke grumbled.

“Let’s go check the sensors,” Lexa conceded.  She didn’t like Clarke being stuck in that mask anymore than the doctor did.

They entered the Watchtower to Anya, Lincoln, Indra, Monty and Raven watching the monitors.  The invaders hadn’t noticed the vast majority of the cameras.  When Raven and Anya had placed them after Pike’s attack, they drilled holes into tree trunks and limbs to hide cameras inside them.  With the infrared functions, this gave them a very clear view of the movements of the people, but less of an idea of the hardware they had brought.

“Monty,” Lexa got his attention.  “You remember that thing I had you do back in November?”

Monty nodded.

“What did you do in November?”  Raven asked with her brow furrowed.

“Shut them down,” Lexa ordered.

Monty turned back to his keyboard and pressed in a quick set of commands.  The screen in front of him changed.  Another series of quick commands.  “Their communications are jammed.  We can see and hear them, they can’t send or receive anything through the satellite.”

“Very good,” Lexa commended.  “Would you mind doing an air quality check inside the bunker?  Clarke would really like to take off her gas mask.”

“Certainly,” Monty brought up the last checks.  “No unusual readings and we have had a full filtering cycle since this afternoon.”

Clarke broke the seal on her mask without waiting for permission and tossed it away.  Anya caught it, not wanting to risk losing such a precious resource to Clarke’s relief.  “Thank Christ,” Clarke breathed deeply.  A red ring surrounded her face from having the rubber sealed to it for so long.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe,” Lexa sighed.  

“Don’t care,” Clarke replied before flinging her arms around the Ranger and dropping a kiss on her lips.  “I needed that.”

Lexa smiled that soft smile she reserved just for Clarke.  “Okay, love.”

“Ugh,” Raven groaned through her mask.  “Take your gay shit elsewhere.”

Without even looking Clarke smacked Raven on the back of the head.

“We do need to decide how we’re going to handle this,” Lincoln indicated the heat signatures on the screens around the room.

“Hunker down for now,” Indra said.  “They can’t communicate with their leadership and I don’t think they brought anything big enough to get in here.”

“I agree,” Anya spoke up.

Lincoln and Lexa exchanged a glance.

“No,” Clarke put her foot down.  “You’re not going out there.”

“Raven,” Anya interrupted the impending argument.  “Do it.”

Raven giggled and rubbed her hands together before grabbing a laptop and typing furiously.  After a few moments an infrared camera popped up on the laptop screen.  Raven typed a few more commands and the screen took on a view not dissimilar to a first person shooter.

“Raven?”  Lexa was silence by Raven shushing her.

The infrared camera on the screen was either particularly powerful or Raven had somehow tweaked the image because Lexa could clearly see the outline of one of the tanks as the camera turned.  Raven pressed the directional keys and centered the tank on her screen.  She made a show of cracking her knuckles before pressing the Enter key.  The screen went white with a blinding heat followed by an even whiter white out.  After a few moments the whiteness cleared up some and the bright flaming remains of a tank filled the screen.  Raven began to work the arrow keys again.  People were rushing around trying to find the source of the rockets.  The second tank came into view, easier to see as cold spots in the heat of the flames from the first tank explosion.  She aimed and made another show of pressing the enter key.  More blinding whiteness.

“Raven,” Lexa said covering her eyes.  “Where did you get anti-tank rounds and how are you firing them?”

“I broke down a couple of AT-4’s and built some remote control rigs,” Raven explained.  “There is one every fifty yards around the perimeter.”  The brightness began to fade again.  People rushed around the encampment.

“Why didn’t I know about these?”  Lexa asked shooting Anya an annoyed look.

“It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission,” Raven shrugged.

“Do we have any AT-4’s left in the armory?”  Lexa knew the answer before she even asked the question.

“Nope,” Raven said popping the ‘p’.  “Wait until you see what I did with the grenades.”

“All of the grenades?”  Lexa had a warning tone.

“Nah, still a few cases left.”

Lexa sighed.  “What did you do with the grenades?”

Raven launched into an explanation that nobody but her actually understood.  When she finished talking, animatedly, everyone stared blankly at her.  Raven sighed the sigh of an engineering genius surrounded by people who had difficulty reading the directions in a Lego set.  “I made a grenade cannon, kind of like a baseball pitching machine.”

“Oh,” Lexa raised an eyebrow.  “You know you have to pull the pins and thumb off the clip before a grenade will explode, right?”

Raven shot Lexa a glaring look through her mask.

Lexa was unfazed and waited for an answer.

Raven rolled her eyes so dramatically everyone saw it.  “I pulled all of the pins and strung the clips on very carefully.  They’ll break as they launch and the clips will fall away in flight.”

Lexa still looked unconvinced.

Raven focused on her laptop again.  Typing furiously while occasionally throwing Lexa a withering look.  A new view appeared on the laptop screen.  This one closer to the camp.  Raven shot Lexa a look and pointed at the screen before making a show of pushing the enter key.  Several seconds passed before a grenade exploded in the middle of the camp.  It was obvious from the way the bodies moved that many had been hit with the shrapnel.  Raven hit the enter key again.  Another few seconds passed before another grenade exploded not far from the first one.

Lincoln and Lexa exchanged another look.  “Let’s go mop it up,” he said.

“Lexa, no,” Clarke said.

“Lexa, yes,” the Ranger replied.  “Raven has already done the heavy lifting.  Linc and I are just going to clean up a little.”

****

It took Lexa, Lincoln, Indra, Anya, Murphy, and Emori a little more than half an hour to get armed and armored to go up top.  It was night, meaning it was darker and colder than daytime.  Equipped with infrared goggles, thermal under layers, kevlar vests, and thick coats the six of them looked laughable marching up the staircase armed to the teeth.

Raven, Clarke, Octavia, and Monty watched from the Watchtower.  It was virtually impossible to tell one heat signature from another and Lexa had insisted on radio silence until they re-entered the bunker.  Monty hadn’t had time to set up a remote signal for any of the soldiers goggles, they were almost as blind in the Watchtower as Roan and his platoon were up on the mountain.

****

Lexa’s balaclava made her a little claustrophobic.  She spent most of her tours in one desert or another and hadn’t spent anytime in cold weather gear.  She hated the humidity of her breath on her face, it was worse than a gas mask.  The material muffled her hearing, something that Lexa relied heavily on in the dark.  If she wasn’t afraid of what Clarke would do to her if she removed the mask and ended up with frostbite, she would have conveniently ‘lost’ it in the snow.

The heat signatures of the remainder Major Prince’s platoon scrambling to find cover in the wake of Raven’s assault would have been comical if they didn’t present such a threat to Lexa’s way of life and the safety of her friends and loved ones.  She crept as quietly as the deep snow would allow into their camp, swords drawn.  Linc, Indra, Murphy, Emori, and Anya, crept around to encircle the camp.  Emori and Murphy intended to disable any vehicles that had not been taken out in the explosions.  Indra and Anya sought their weapons to either steal or destroy.

She followed a fleeing aggressor to a gathering of six others trying to regroup.  Lexa watched them long enough to judge their abilities before rushing the group and cutting them down in quick succession.  The layers of clothing absorbed the blood, causing strange readings in her goggles before going cold in the below zero temperatures.  Lexa stalked through the camp cutting down anyone who crossed her path.  She had yet to find Major Roan Prince.  She pulled the masks off of everyone she killed looking for him.  She had lost count of the number of men and women whose blood was frozen to the blades of her weapons.  Anya had signaled their mission accomplished, the smell of gasoline in the air signaled that John and Emori had completed theirs and moved back to the rendezvous point.

Lexa was frustrated.  There were no more heat signatures in the camp.  She had begun tearing down tents in her rage.  “PRINCE!” She screamed into the night.  “FACE ME!”

Only silence greeted her in response.

“COWARD!”  She screamed before storming back to the rendezvous point.

“Do you have to be so dramatic?”  Anya snarked.

“He wasn’t here,” Lexa growled.  “That means he’s still out there somewhere and a threat to us.”

“He’s only one man, Lex,” Lincoln reasoned.

****

As they made their way back into the bunker, Lexa was surprised to find herself covered in more blood and gore than she would have thought given the temperatures outside.  There was terror and worry in Clarke’s eyes before the Ranger started shedding the many layers of insulation and armor with no blood or injury appearing.  

“I’m fine, love,” Lexa sighed, her eyes and limbs heavy.   _How long had it been since she slept?_

“Come on,” Clarke coaxed.  “You need to warm up and to rest.”

The next several minutes flowed together.  Clarke led her to their room and into a warm shower where she warmed and washed the Ranger.  Cooing softly before drying her and leading her into their bedroom so that Lincoln could warm up in the shower.  She thought she might have heard the word hypothermia, how long had they been up top?  Her bed was warm and soft and Clarke was warm and soft against her.  Lexa drifted off to sleep with the smell of Clarke’s shampoo in her nose and the sounds of her breathing in her ears.

****

**April 13, 2018**

****

Lexa awoke sometime later, naked with a naked Clarke draped over her.  Despite her concern about Roan still in the woods somewhere, the naked warmth of the blonde doctor was much more appealing.

A sleepy grin appeared on the doctors face as Lexa’s hands woke her skimming and caressing her flesh.  “You’re warm.”

“I am,” Lexa replied softly.

“You scared me,” Clarke admitted.

“Let me show you how fine I am,” the Ranger rolled the doctor onto her back and wasted no time in showing the doctor how much she appreciated her gentle care the night before.

****

Lexa awoke to a knock at the door.  They had curled into each other and slept again after a round of vigorous lovemaking.  She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as Clarke mumbled in the vague direction of the door.

“What,” Lexa half called, half croaked.

Octavia’s voice answered, “It’s past lunch, you need to eat.”

Lexa grunted at the door.  

Clarke burrowed her face into the Ranger’s neck.  “We really should eat something.”

“I ate something earlier,” Lexa smirked.  “So did you.”

“Sustenance, Lex,” Clarke chuckled.  “As nice as it would be, one cannot survive on love alone.”

****

A few minutes later Clarke and Lexa wandered into the kitchen and sought the sandwiches that Octavia was sure to have left for them.  Roast beef and mozzarella on sourdough rolls.  Mozzarella and paneer were the only cheeses Lincoln could consistently make well.  There were a dozen or so wheels of assorted types of cheeses aging down in dry storage.  No one held very high hopes that they would be particularly tasty.

They consumed their meals at the small table in the kitchen while enjoying each others company.  

The quiet couldn’t last.  

“Lex, we need you in the Watchtower,” Anya’s voice sounded overhead.  “Bring Clarke.”

****

Lexa stepped into the door of the Watchtower to heat signatures on every screen, in every direction.  “Fuck,” she swore.  “How many?”

“At least two hundred,” Monty said.  “Lots of trucks and tanks.”

“That’s not the worst part,” Anya said, nodding at Monty.  He clicked a few keys and brought up a camera view outside the cavern entrance.  Someone was pacing back and forth in front of the cave mouth, waving a torch in one hand and something rifle shaped in the other.  The gloom and less than stellar resolution made details difficult to make out.  “Turn on the sound,” Anya ordered.  

Monty sighed and did as ordered.

“ _Give me Clarke!  I know you’re holding her against her will!  Give her to me, Woods!  I brought an army to take her by force if I have to!”_  The voice shouting at the mouth of the cave sent shivers down Lexa’s spine.

“Finn?”  Clarke gasped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helter Skelter - The Beatles
> 
> Another cliffhanger. Sorry, not sorry.


	29. Desperately in Need of Some Strangers Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re doing a little time travel here. It occurred to me that there would be a lot of questions about how Finn managed to get back. So I went back and wrote his journey from his point of view. This really hung me up because I don't like Finn and I don't want him to be a sympathetic character, but his journey is important to his arrival. So, sorry.
> 
> We begin not long after Linc and Miller dumped him off in Kentucky.
> 
> Unfortunately, I had to break it into two parts in order to get a chapter up today. So the next Chapter will also be Finn's journey.

**June 27, 2017**

****

Finn awoke to bright light and a throbbing skull.  He tried to cover his eyes to block out the light and found that his arms were restrained.  Maybe Clarke had moved him into the infirmary.

“You’re finally awake,” an unfamiliar voice spoke near his head.  “You’ve been out for a couple of days.”  The voice sounded feminine.

He tried to speak and found his tongue dry and thick.  Only a groan escaped his parched throat.

“You had a head injury,” the voice continued.  “It looked like you fell off the mountain and rolled into the valley.  You cracked your head on a big rock.  There was a lot of blood.”  The voice paused.  “Are you brain damaged?”

Finn managed to shake his head.  He pulled uselessly at the restraints on his wrist trying to indicate his need for water.

“Turn your head,” the voice instructed.  “And open up.”

Cold clean water splashed onto his tongue.  He swallowed greedily.  He was alive, the Commander hadn’t managed to kill him.  They must have thrown him off of the mountain.  He needed to get back to the bunker to rescue Clarke.  The problem was, he had no idea where he was.

“Where am I?”  He croaked not really expecting an answer.

“A storm shelter west of London, Kentucky,” the voice replied, it was sharp and unfriendly.

Finn tried to open his eyes again.  The blinding light made his head scream, the throbbing sped up with his heart rate.  He powered through and let the room come in to focus.  The bright light was coming from a flashlight propped on what might have been a high shelf.  There were portable lanterns lit around the small concrete shelter.  He was lying on the floor with his hands cuffed together around a steel support pole.  A tall blonde woman leaned casually against a shelf of food.

“I have to get back, I have to save Clarke,” Finn yanked at the steel pole with the handcuffs.

“Who’s Clarke, your boyfriend?”  The woman smirked at him, her features were sharp and cruel.

“My soulmate, I have to help her,” Finn tugged uselessly against the pole.

“Where is she?”  The blonde woman asked.

“In a secure bunker, they’re keeping her away from me,” Finn began to cry at the futility of his situation.

“Where is this secure bunker?  Do they have food and power?”  The woman moved in closer.

“Yeah, there’s an indoor farm and greenhouse,” Finn spotted splashes of what appeared to be fresh blood on one of the walls.  Suddenly he realized he could put Clarke in even more danger if the wrong people found out about the bunker.  “You’d need an army to get in there.”

“I’ve got an army,” the woman said.  “Tell me where it is.”

“No, I don’t even know you,” Finn shook his head.  “You might hurt Clarke.  I have to protect Clarke.”

The woman crouched in front of him.  “My name is Echo, I’m with the Secret Service and we have an Army at a secure bunker in West Virginia.”

“I won’t tell you where she is unless you take me with you,” Finn insisted.  “I need to be there to get her out.”

“If your friend is with bad people, I will help you get her out,” she said in a soothing tone.  “But we have some other things to take care of before we can go back to Greenbrier.”

“You’ll help me,” Finn fought to hold back tears of joy and relief.

“I will,” Echo assured him.  “Understand that we just met, so I can’t really trust you yet.  I’m going to keep the cuffs of you until I’m sure you won’t knock me out and steal my mode of transportation.”

“I suppose that’s reasonable,” Finn nodded.  She was going to help him.  Echo was going to help him save Clarke from her abuser.

“Sleep off the last of that headache, we’ll leave in the morning,” Echo handed him a packet of acetaminophen and a bottle of water.

****

**June 28, 2017**

****

Morning came, Finn’s head hurt less.  Echo gave him a granola bar and a bottle of water for breakfast.

Hands tied, Echo led Finn out onto the charred bones of the Earth and into a Snow Cat.  Being Florida born and raised he had only seen a Snow Cat on television shows and in movies.  This one was pretty impressive with two pairs of tracks and was dragging a modified U-Haul trailer behind it.  The snow falling from the sky was also something new to Finn.  Snow was usually white, this had an ashy, dirty color.

Echo assisted him into the passenger seat before going around to climb into the driver’s seat.  The cab wasn’t that much different than a large pick-up truck.  She fired it up before looking over at Finn.  “We need to siphon gas whenever we find abandoned vehicles.  So keep your eyes peeled.”

****

Finn woke up sometime later.  The sun didn’t seem to work anymore so he had no idea how long he had been asleep.  He hadn’t been tired, but he had fallen asleep all the same.  He thought it must have been an after affect of his head injury.  Clarke would know, he would ask her when they got to Asheville.

He glanced over at his travelling companion who seemed absorbed in steering the Snow Cat around a gully where a bridge had collapsed.

He cleared his throat before speaking.  “Where are we?”  His tongue felt thick in his mouth.

“About nine hours from where we started,” Echo replied.  “Just looking for someplace to settle in for the night.”  Echo passed him a water bottle.  “Stay hydrated.”

****

**June 29, 2017**

****

Finn woke on the floor of a dark, dank basement.  

“Morning,” Echo greeted cheerily.  

She passed him another water bottle and granola bar.  Finn was suddenly aware that he was starving, he must have fell asleep before dinner.  He didn’t even remember getting out of the Snow Cat and moving into this basement.  “I think that head injury really messed me up.”

“It’s been known to happen,” Echo said.  “Eat.  Finish that water, you don’t want to dehydrate.”

They loaded back into the Snow Cat, Echo helped him since he was still cuffed.  She did loosen them some so they didn’t rub so uncomfortably anymore.  After a few minutes of staring at the ashen snow falling, Finn’s eyes became heavy.

****

Finn woke up as Echo climbed back in the cab.  “Oh good, you’re up.  I found a place to camp.”

Finn blinked the bleariness from his eyes and clambered out of the cab.  It was awkward with his hands still cuffed.  Echo led him into another storm cellar.  This one reeked of chemicals, meth.  He grew up around enough tweakers in central Florida to know that smell.  “We can’t stay here,” he told his travelling companion.  “We’ll get sick.”

“One night won’t be so bad,” Echo assured him tossing a pile of firewood in the floor and getting it started.

Finn looked around the room, there were a few broken tables and a pile of broken glass in a corner.  “Where did you get the firewood?”

“From the U-Haul,” Echo replied feeding a few pieces of kindling into the growing flame.

“What else is in there?”  Finn asked sitting down next to the growing flames.

“Food, survival supplies and anything I collect to take back to base,” Echo replied.  She pulled a bottle of water and a packet of dried meat and dehydrated vegetables out and handed them to Finn.  “Finish the water,” she ordered gently.

****

**July 5, 2017**

****

Finn woke on the floor next to the dying embers of the fire, the handcuffs were gone.  He luxuriated in having a full range of motion again.

They went about their morning routine, breakfast, water, climb in the Snow Cat.  Finn was asleep again before they had moved out of sight of the storm cellar they spent the night in.

****

Echo shook him awake.  He blinked and tried to take in his surroundings between the falling dirty snow in the darkness.  There were short, squat, brick buildings.  Oddly uniform in appearance.

“Where are we?”

“Fort Knox, Kentucky,” Echo replied.

“What’re we doing here?”

“We need weapons for your army,” Echo offered.

That sounded right.  He knew Fort Knox was further from Asheville than where they started, but more weapons was a good idea.  Woods had an armory, Finn was going to need an arsenal to get Clarke away from her.  “Yeah, okay,” Finn nodded.

Echo handed Finn a bottle of water and an MRE.  He had seen a lot of these things in the pantry of the Asheville bunker.  He took it and did his best to look grateful.

“Don’t forget to finish the whole bottle of water,” Echo reminded him.

****

**July 6, 2017**

****

The following morning Finn awoke with a vague recollection of men in camouflage loading crates into the trailer.

After eating an MRE and a bottle of water, he was asleep again before they even left the Army base.

****

**July 11, 2017**

The days had passed much the same.  Finn got in the Snow Cat and fell asleep.  He awoke long enough to exit the Snow Cat and eat before falling asleep again.

He blinked into alertness sometime late in the day.  It was kind of dark, but it was always kind of dark now.  He gazed out of the windscreen and spotted a grimy sign directing highway drivers to exits in St. Louis.

“What are we doing in Missouri?!”  He shouted.  “We’re supposed to be going to North Carolina!”

“I told you I had errands to take care of,” Echo said reasonably.

“I have to get to Asheville!  She needs me,” he insisted.

“I’m sorry, Finn,” Echo soothed.  “If we don’t bring back the supplies I was sent out for, they’ll never give me an army to go rescue your girl.  You want me to be able to take an Army to rescue your girl, right?  What was her name again, Claire?”

“Clarke, her name is Clarke,” Finn was calming down.

“Tell me about Clarke,” she said.

“She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” Finn gushed.  “She’s beautiful, and she’s a doctor, and she’s so soft and kind,” Finn trailed off, his thoughts turning to his estranged love.  

“Yeah?”  Echo encouraged as she passed him a packet of food and a bottle of water.

“Yeah,” Finn said dreamily, his thoughts turning to the feel of Clarke’s skin.  He rambled on about her for several minutes before he drifted off to sleep again.

****

**July 17, 2017**

****

They were still in St. Louis, all over the city he could see signs that it had been ravaged by flooding and earthquakes.  Echo stopped at factories and warehouses they found along the way.  Finn felt like he was sleeping a lot less, maybe that meant he was finally healing from his traumatic brain injury.  That’s what Echo had started calling it when they talked.  He helped her load the trailer with looted food and supplies from inside of the steel and brick buildings.  It was kind of surreal to have cases of snack cakes but no convenience stores.  

He had been daydreaming about Clarke while staring out of the window when someone grabbed his left wrist and slapped a handcuff onto it.  He swung his head around to see the other cuff hooked around the snow cats steering wheel.

“Wha-,” he began before Echo cut him off.

“Stay put, stay quiet,” she ordered before climbing out of the cab.  “Drink your water,” she said before closing the door and disappearing from his eyeline.

He picked up the water bottle she had given him earlier and drank most of it in one gulp.  He seemed to have been conditioned over the last week or so to chug all of his water as if someone was going to take it from him.  It was, after all, a precious resource now, what with everything being frozen or polluted.  He finished the bottle in another few gulps and recapped the bottle before tossing the empty behind his seat.  He looked around outside trying to determine what this scorched warehouse had been before.  Someone had boarded up the windows recently.  The wood looked new and out of place in the apocalypse.  His eyelids got heavy as he thought about potential survivors here, he thought he heard the popping of fireworks as he drifted off to sleep.

****

**July 23, 2017**

****

After finally leaving St. Louis, they had driven for four days to reach a little town called Boonville.  They had stopped often along the way to check warehouses and factories.  Echo told him the grocery stores and big box retailers were mostly cleaned out before the meteor even hit.  When they finally reached their destination, Echo smiled to see the building still standing.

“What was this place?”  Finn asked, peering out into the darkness.

“Gun manufacturer,” Echo replied.  “Specifically AR-15s.  We’ll need them to go get your girl.”

****

**July 24, 2017**

****

They spent the entire day loading guns and gun parts into the trailer.  Finn was exhausted when he collapsed next to the fire Echo had built on the factory floor.  He had barely finished his food and water when he fell asleep.

****

**July 28, 2017**

****

Four more days passed as they crawled up and down mountains to Rolla and Fort Leonard Wood.  Finn slept as armed men in camouflage loaded crates into the trailer.

****

**July 29, 2017**

****

“Can we head back, now?  Clarke needs me.  There’s no way of knowing if Woods has beaten her to death by now,” Finn whined.

“Can’t.  We got new orders at the Army post,” Echo said.  “We’ve got an ammunition plant to check out and another gun factory to empty.”

“Echo, you promised,” Finn said dejectedly.

“I promised you an army and I will deliver it, they’re going to need these guns and bullets, Finn.  I am helping you, you’re just going to have to trust me a little longer,” Echo reassured him.  “Why don’t you grab a snack and drink a bottle of water, you look a little pale.  Can’t have you getting sick.  You need to be strong and healthy to kill the Commander.”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed taking a bottle of water from his supply under his seat.  “Gotta keep up my strength to kill the Commander.”  He grabbed a package of snack cakes and scarfed them down chased by his refilled bottle of water.  Echo insisted that plastic was rare now, so she had to refill his water bottles from a stash of potable water in the trailer.

****

**August 6, 2017**

****

Finn awoke on an uncomfortable cot in a tornado shelter somewhere north of Little Rock.  They would get to the ammunition plant today and finally turn back east toward North Carolina and Clarke.

****

**August 21, 2017**

****

It was late when Echo parked the snow cat outside of the gun factory in southeastern Kentucky.  “Stay put,” she ordered climbing out of the cab.

Finn watched her disappear into the darkness.  He gave up peering into the darkness after a while and resorted to daydreaming about Clarke.  He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard firecrackers.  He was pretty sure this was a gun factory, not a fireworks factory.  Why would Echo be setting off fireworks in the middle of the night anyway?

He slipped out of the cab and wandered around the building until he came across a dead body in the snow by a side door.  There was a bullet hole in his temple.  Finn began to worry for Echo’s safety.  He needed her to get him back to Clarke.  He crept to the door and peered through the crack where it had not closed all the way.  The lighting inside was dim, but he could make out shapes moving around in the darkness.

More firecracker sounds accompanied by flashes of light.  

Finn slipped in the door and tried to creep into the dimly lit factory.  He heard scuffling, maybe?  This really wasn’t his milieu.  He turned a corner and found a rather terrifying gun pushing against his nose.

“Christ, Finn, I told you to stay in the snow cat,” Echo growled.  

“What’s going on in here?”  Finn asked softly.

“Hostiles,” Echo replied.  “Go back out to the rig.  I’ll come get you when it’s safe.”

Finn hesitated.  His eyes raked over what appeared to be several dead bodies littering the factory floor.  He didn’t see any weapons on them, but Echo must have already picked them up.

“Hurry up, Finn,” Echo urged.  “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Finn nodded and left the way he came in.  He climbed back into the cab of the snow cat and chugged down a bottle of water.

****

**August 22, 2017**

****

Echo shook him awake in the cab of the snow cat.

“Come on in and get warm,” she said.

Finn stretched and slid out of the cab.  He followed Echo into the factory, watching for the bodies he had seen the night before but not seeing them.  Even the blood in the snow was gone.  Maybe Finn had imagined it.

“Eat some breakfast and then you can come help me sort out these parts,” Echo said cheerily.

Echo saved him.  She wouldn’t just be going around killing survivors indiscriminately, would she?  She worked for the government, taking care of the people was her life’s mission.  He must have imagined the fireworks and the bodies.  He settled down next to the fire Echo had built and helped himself to the meat and cooked vegetables he found there.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't the part of the story that you guys wanted, but I really needed to tell it otherwise the loose ends would drive me mad.
> 
> Title from "The End" - The Doors


	30. Wooden Ships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to Finn's journey.
> 
> Unedited, but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer.

**August 31, 2017**

****

Finn had been sleeping more.  Echo suggested that he might have gotten sick wandering around out in the snow.  That would explain what he hallucinated at the gun factory. Fever dreams.

They had arrived near Fort Campbell late the day before.  Although days were more of a memory than an actual thing.

Echo found them a secure location to sleep.  She said that Fort Campbell had been overrun by hostiles and scavengers in the early days of the catastrophe and they needed to come in rested and alert.

The hazy dimness of the post apocalyptic world made it difficult to really see anything, but the Post didn’t appear to have been razed in the manner that Echo had suggested.  There was obvious fire, water, and earthquake damage, but for the most part, it appeared to have been evacuated in a calm and orderly fashion. 

Echo stopped at buildings at irregular intervals that Finn couldn’t grasp.  Finn napped off and on while Echo was increasingly frustrated. The day dragged on and she parked the snow cat in front of an empty barracks.  Echo stormed down hallways on every floor kicking open doors to find them empty of everything except the built ins. Even the furniture had been broken down and moved out.

Finn got that his companion was furious, he just didn’t know why.

****

**September 2, 2017**

****

Echo had spent four days combing Fort Campbell and her anger only grew.  Finn did not question why they turned south out of Kentucky. He knew what Echo would tell him.  They needed weapons to take the bunker in North Carolina. They didn’t get them in Kentucky so now Echo was headed somewhere else.

Yesterday, a large stone sign peaked just above the gray snow and welcomed them to Aniston, Alabama.

Today, they found another abandoned Army base.

****

**September 10, 2017**

****

Another four days shooting locks off of secured doors only to find empty weapons racks had passed before Echo again went south.  Finn had dared to question the move, Echo punched him in her fury. Hours later she apologized and explained that the President was going to be very angry that these posts had been abandoned.  If Echo returned to Greenbrier without checking every other military installation, the President would just send her back out and refuse to provide Finn with the army he needed to rescue Clarke.

Now Finn stared out at the Gulf of Mexico in the destroyed remains of Fort Rucker, Alabama.  He guessed all of those global warming experts were vindicated now. They had already found that the helicopters had left and this base had also been cleaned out, except for the parts of it that had been destroyed in the storms that hit the gulf coast in the immediate aftermath of the meteors.

It had taken two days to get around the flooded remains of Montgomery to declare Maxwell Air Force Base a total loss.

Echo stood next to him on the foundation of some destroyed building as they breathed in the salty air.

They had been standing in silence for over an hour when Finn finally dared to speak.  “I guess the Panhandle is gone then, huh?”

Echo looked at him incredulously before she snorted.  Before long both of them were laughing in the wreckage of south Alabama.

That night, Echo zipped their sleeping bags together.  Over the weeks they had been sleeping closer and closer together to conserve body heat and stay warm in front of the fires they built in the abandoned buildings they found.  

Echo patted the space next to her and he climbed in without question.  As he settled down he felt Echo scoot closer to him and rub her body against his back.

“I don’t know about you,” she whispered in his ear.  “But I could certainly use a little stress relief.” He hands traveled around to the front of his body and down toward his groin.  “Your girlfriend never has to know.”

****

**September 17, 2017**

****

They had carefully made their way up to Fort Benning, Georgia.  It had taken longer than expected since flooding had taken out many roads and bridges before the waters receded.

This base had also been cleaned out and abandoned.  Echo said it was traitors, scavengers, and deserters, but it looked like the neatest most orderly scavengers and deserters Finn had ever seen.

Every night, Echo zipped their sleeping bags together and they as Echo said “fucked it out.”  Sex with Echo was rough and often painful. He was covered in scratches and bite marks and he was pretty sure the scratches on his chest were infected.  He didn’t want to say anything because if she was this rough when he was a willing participant, what would it be like if he wasn’t. He shuddered at the thought and completely missed the irony of his predicament.  

****

**September 24, 2017**

****

It had taken a week to cross Georgia and get to Fort Gordon.  They had stopped for the night at Robins Air Force Base, just long enough to see that the fighter planes had been taken.  Fin wondered where all of the helicopters, planes, and weapons had been moved to in such a hurry.

The scratches on his chest were indeed infected, but the day after Echo noticed, she found a hospital and raided it for bandages and antibiotics for him.  He found he didn’t mind the roughness so much anymore and discovered that when Echo got angry, he got aroused.

While all of the military bases were a bust, they found a lot of weapons and food in homes scattered along the path to different posts.  Well, he hadn’t really found much himself. The infection made him sleepy so he often slept through much of the time Echo spent scavenging for food, supplies, and weapons.

Fort Gordon was another wash, literally.  The waters had receded from the base but it was obvious that the real destruction had been from the storms and floods in the aftermath of the asteroids.  There weren’t any usable remains and Echo turned them toward South Carolina and Fort Jackson.

****

**September 28, 2017**

****

Finn had no idea that he was standing on Tank Hill.  A street going up a hill on Fort Jackson that Lexa had run up and down every morning during boot camp.  He didn’t know it, but he was also looking at the battalion that Lexa had been assigned to during those weeks.  They were affectionately called starship battalions by post personnel due to their odd shape that fit barracks around battalion offices, weapons storage, classrooms, and a mess hall. 

He was looking at that particular barracks because Echo had gone in to inspect it for scavengers before letting Finn enter.  He heard two shots fired before Echo appeared and waved him down. Finn hopped back into the cab of the snow cat and drove it down to Echo’s position.

After shutting off the engine he climbed out and followed Echo into the breezeway and through an open door.  Finn was pleasantly surprised to see it fully stocked with M-16s and ammo cases.

Echo approached a similarly located door for every pair of barracks and found each one with weapons still inside.

“We’ll need to check every one of these battalions, it looks like they didn’t take the time to clear out the boot camp barracks,” Echo smiled.  “If we’re lucky the ranges will have been forgotten, too.”

The ammo cases turned out to be filled with blanks, which was only a small disappointment to Echo.

“Why do you know so much about this base?”  Finn asked after Echo had appeared with a few large cans of food and utensils from the mess hall.

“I went to boot camp here,” Echo replied using a found can opener to get into the chili.  “God I never thought I’d be eating this slop again.”

“I didn’t know you were in the Army,” Finn replied.  Keenly aware of how little he knew about the woman he had been travelling with all this time.

“Before I joined the secret service,” she nodded passing Finn an opened can.

“What did you do?”  Finn accepted the food.

“Intelligence,”  she replied.

****

It took them a week to clear every training battalion and range on the post.  Most were cleared but a few were loaded with weapons. The grenade range had exploded at some point in the apocalypse.  Echo had a good laugh at the crater full of water the explosion had left behind. Portions of the base and the city had become one with the Atlantic.  Low areas seemed to still be holding salt water.

****

**October 15, 2017**

****

It had taken two weeks to get to Fayetteville, North Carolina.  They had to map out the new coastline as they went. When they arrived at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base they discovered what hadn’t become one with the Atlantic had long since been raided and carried away by survivors.

“It’s time to go back to Greenbrier,” Echo said looking up the new coastline.

“Do we have enough weapons?”  Finn asked.

“We’ve got all we’re going to get,” Echo replied.  “Lee, Eustis, Langley, Norfolk, they’ll all be under the ocean now.  There’s a gun factory between here and Greenbrier, we can check it.”

****

**October 20, 2017**

****

Finn awoke alone and confused.  The snow cat seemed to be parked alongside a lake.  What caught his attention, was the sight of boats with working lights on the lake.  The very dim light of didn’t allow him to see much in the way of details, but there were clearly several boats tied together floating on a lake.  Finn was thrilled to see signs of survivors, he hadn’t seen anyone but Echo in so long. He practically bounced with excitement waiting for Echo to reappear and wave him out onto the boats to meet the survivors.

Which made the series of explosions that rattled and shook the earth that much more surprising.  Finn watched as a great wave crashed into the boats before the water started to slip away. Finn spun around and saw a dam crumbling as the water poured out, boats dragged down with them crashing down into the valley below.

The drivers side door opened and Echo climbed in.  Finn jumped. “Did you do that?”

“Had to,” Echo shrugged.  “Orders.”

“There were survivors, Echo!  People!” Finn didn’t understand.

“In the apocalypse, people are dangerous, Finn,” Echo started up the snow cat and headed north.  “They want what you have and they will take it by force.”

****

**October 25, 2017**

****

Things had been tense between Finn and Echo since the dam.  They got a little more tense when they found that the gun factory had already been looted.

“Fuck,” Echo swore.

“Can we go save Clarke now?”  Finn asked.

Echo looked like she was going to attack him for a moment, he saw it in her eyes.  “Yeah,” she finally said. “Let’s go raise that army.”

****

**November 06, 2017**

****

It had been a long hard haul, but finally, Greenbrier was in sight.  Crossing the frozen mountains had been much harder than Echo had anticipated.  Sex had become even more violent somehow and Finn was thrilled that now he could finally go save Clarke from the Commander.  Echo pulled into an underground parking deck and slowly, Finn began to feel warm for the first time in months.

There were guards waiting outside a steel door where Echo parked.  They eyed Finn suspiciously but allowed him to follow Echo in as she barked orders back at them.  

They came across a woman Echo recognized, “This is Finn, find him a room and a hot meal and get him settled.  I’ve got to talk to President Snow.” 

Finn followed the woman who looked him up and down.  “You’re filthy and you look like you haven’t had a good meal in months.”

“I haven’t,” Finn told her.  “Baths aren’t all that accessible out there these days.”

The woman chuckled.  “I’m Ontari, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Finn followed her into an elevator and down into the bowels of the bunker.  Down a corridor, a turn, and Finn was lost. Ontari seemed to know where she was going though.  She stopped at a door and used a key to open it. 

“Here we are,” she smiled.  “Go on in and get cleaned up.  There are towels in the bathroom.  I’ll find you some clothes and send some food down.”

“Thank you,” Finn said sincerely.  There was a moment when he thought he might cry at the thought of being warm and clean.

****

Finn took a long hot shower.  He scrubbed every inch of his skin red and washed his hair three times.  The first two to get it clean, the third one just because he could. He had found a razor and shaving cream in the medicine cabinet and shaved in the shower.  For the first time in months, he didn’t look like a homeless man.

When he finished in the shower he found a fluffy white robe with the towels and put it on to go look around the room he had been assigned to.  It was a hotel room, bed, television, dresser with a mirror. On the dresser was a tray of steaming food. Real food, not canned meat. There was a steak and a baked potato and glazed carrots.  He scarfed it down thrilled to have something that tasted good for the first time since the Commander threw him out of the bunker in Asheville. 

After eating he opened the dresser and found sweatpants, a t-shirt, and socks.  He put them on before lying down on the bed, luxuriating in having a pillow. He was so comfortable he drifted off to sleep.

****

A harsh knock on the door woke him.  Echo stood in the open doorway. Ahead of her, inside the room with him was the scariest woman he had ever seen.  Sharp features and cold eyes, she looked at him as though he was a gnat that she would enjoy swatting.

“Finn,” Echo said stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind here.  “This is President Nia Snow. She would like to hear about your girlfriends bunker.”

Finn scrambled out of the bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes.  “It’s nice to meet you, Madam President.” He offered a hand for her to shake, Nia Snow looked down her nose at it before returning her steely gaze to Finn’s face.

“Yes,” she finally said.  Even her voice was a little terrifying.  “Mr. Collins, is it. Tell me everything you know about this bunker.  How is it powered?”

Finn lowered his outstretched hand and glanced at Echo.  “It’s okay, Finn,” she told him. “If you want that army to go save your girlfriend, Nia needs to know everything so that we can plan.”

Finn nodded and swallowed before finding the will to speak.  “There are solar panels and wind turbines on the mountain. The walls of the bunker are lined with batteries to store the power.  Raven once told me they could keep the lights on for weeks just on the batteries.”

Nia nodded.  “What about water and food?”

“There is a lake down under the mountain, I’ve never seen it, but I heard them talking about it.  There is a very large greenhouse growing fruits and vegetables. A farm is set up in the outer caves with cows, pigs, chickens, and horses,” Finn divulged.  “There is also about ten years worth of dried food stored down there somewhere.”

Nia continued asking questions and Finn answered them as best he could.  Everything except the location of the bunker.

****

Finn didn’t know how long Nia grilled him.  He just knew that when they finally left all he wanted to do was sleep.  In the morning he would begin training with the infantry. Nia and her Generals would begin planning the assault.  

Finn fell asleep with a smile on his face. Soon, he would get to ride in and rescue his princess.

****

**March 19, 2018**

****

Every day Finn asked Echo when they were leaving for North Carolina.  Every day Echo answered, "As soon as everything is ready." 

Today, everything was ready.  

President Snow had rounded up an army’s worth of snow cats, tanks, and troop transports.  Fuel trucks were acquired and filled from every remaining gas station for a hundred miles.  Troops were trained to fight in the cold and fight off the cold. The scientists weaponized a virus.  Finn honestly hoped that the virus killed Lexa so he could watch her bleed out from her eyes before the first wave of troops attacked.

****  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crosby, Stills & Nash - “Wooden Ships”


End file.
